A group of officials led by Ying Yong, mayor of Shanghai, visits the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone in the city's Pudong New Area on April 5. [Photo/WeChat account: shresorts]

Ying Yong, Shanghai's mayor, called for more action to develop Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone into a world-class tourism destination during a visit to the zone on April 5.

The Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone, located in the city's Pudong New Area, has become a major attraction since the opening of its core area in last April and has already received nearly 15 million visitors.

The mayor first visited the zone's emergency response center, which integrates emergency response, traffic management, and police services to create a safer environment for the region. Furthermore, Ying inspected several key attractions including Shanghai Disney Resort and urged officials to strengthen management, coordination, and emergency response capacity.

Other destinations included an ecological park, a herb garden, the metro 11 line station nearest to Shanghai Disney Resort, and the exhibition center of Shanghai Shendi Group, Disney's Chinese partner.

Following his tour, Ying attended a meeting with local leaders and spoke highly of the zone's economic and social benefits as well as its important role in promoting Chinese and western cultural integration.

Ying proposed offering Chinese and foreign visitors a unique travel experience by combining traditional Chinese culture, modern western culture, Shanghai-style culture, and Jiangnan-style (an area south of the Yangtze River Delta) culture.

Ying also suggested improving public services to better support tourist facilities such as transportation and catering. Ying has urged the Pudong government to offer greater support to the zone to help it develop further.