Shanghai light festival draws 23m visitors, 5.41b yuan in consumption

Shanghai's third international light festival concluded on Friday after illuminating the city for 30 days, drawing over 23 million visitors and generating 5.41 billion yuan ($809 million) in consumption, organizers announced at a closing ceremony.

The festival, which wrapped up at the old city hall building in Huangpu district, transformed urban landscapes across the city by integrating culture, tourism, commerce, sports and exhibitions through hundreds of light installations and thousands of performances.

Spanning 18 venues across all 16 municipal districts and the Lingang Special Area, with a satellite venue extending to Suzhou Industrial Park in neighboring Jiangsu province, the festival featured 331 light art installations — including 62 large-scale inflatable structures — and presented 4,699 light shows.

"Huangpu district has been immersed in light and joy," said Chen Yang, an official with the district government. "The light installations not only illuminated greenbelts and waterfronts but also activated the sprawling night economy, making neighborhoods more vibrant, nights brighter, and consumption more robust."