Shanghai Tourism Festival to kick off with major parade

The 2019 Shanghai Tourism Festival will open Sept 14 and run through Oct 6.

Held annually since 1990, the festival this year will include more than 100 activities ranging from the opening parade on Huaihai Middle Road to a cruise ship parade on Huangpu River to tours of the city.

Themed 70 years of glory, beauty and joy, the parade will feature 1,500 performers and 25 floats from 19 countries and regions, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Another highlight of the festival is the Readable Architecture project, which enables visitors to learn about the histories of more than 1,000 old buildings by scanning a QR code on each of their facades.

In the first half of this year, these buildings received 7.65 million visitors, said the administration.

Visitors will also be able to gain entry to some of Shanghai's major tourism attractions for half the regular price from Sept 15-21.