- Shanghai Summer opening celebration electrifies Xujiahui Centre;
- “240-Hour Products” give tourists custom starter kits (think fast-tracked city immersion);
- City Customised Events—pop-ups and parties crafted for global visitors;
- Campaign revamps traditional travel with tailored adventures and surprises.
Every year, cities around the world try to outdo themselves with flashier lights, louder music, and more things for the average traveler to buy, touch, or taste. However, Shanghai doesn’t just play along—it writes its rules and then tosses them sky-high. The kickoff of “Shanghai Summer” 2025 could have been just another calendar event; instead, the entire city feels like it’s been set to ‘festival mode’ and no one remembered to press pause.
Picture the opening at Xujiahui Centre: neon bursts, street performers making tourists rethink reality, and locals handing out little bags of mystery snacks (note for your notebook: try everything once). This isn’t just another event you wander through. This is a city that dares you to run wild for a hundred days and then asks what took you so long.
Fascinating ideas headline this season’s campaign. “240-Hour Products” aren’t just souvenirs—they’re an invitation for travelers to jump headfirst into city life with a ready-made starter kit (think QR codes, metro passes, snack vouchers, and the city’s best secrets bundled by insiders). The carefully curated City Customised Events are scattered all over Shanghai—each one tailored like a bespoke suit for visitors from every corner of the globe.
How Is Shanghai Redefining Travel, Food, and Culture for the Summer?
Ask anyone who strolled Huaihai Road last summer—this isn’t just an exaggeration. With overseas card spending up by a wild 208% in famous retail areas and dining up nearly 27%, Shanghai is determined to show guests that life tastes better here (with receipts to prove it).
Big airlines like China Eastern are on board—direct booking discounts on over thirty international routes for “Shanghai Summer” visitors. And this isn’t some ‘brush up on your Mandarin’ ordeal: English smart apps for flights, city maps, and even Shanghai’s labyrinthine metro system mean your phone turns into your local best friend.
At every turn, payment is easy—even if your wallet is a patchwork of credit cards from half a dozen countries. UnionPay partnered with 65,000 shops, while Visa has rolled out “Payment-Friendly Zones”—all designed for the international traveler who wants to buy a LEGO set, find a plate of Korean fried chicken, or claim a tax refund, all before lunchtime.
The “Shanghai Pass” gives you the keys to the city’s metro, ferry, and sci-fi sightseeing tunnel (yes, that’s a thing), all wrapped in a one-day ticket. Trip.com chipped in its own digital twist—a “Discover Shanghai” page armed with free city tours, tips, and last-minute local finds. Hungry? Marriott and Jin Jiang tempt with menus in English, Chinese, and Korean—and themed food festivals that make decision-making nearly impossible.
Culture carves out its own territory. World-class icons—Shanghai Disney Resort, LEGO’s “World Play Festival,” and POP MART’s “Summer Trend Play”—paint a playground from Pudong to Puxi. These aren’t standard exhibits; think music you feel in your bones, food that dares you not to Instagram it, and playlists that might outlast the campaign itself.
To summarize:
- Foreign card spending up over 68% during “Shanghai Summer” 2024;
- Huaihai Road and Lujiazui set new records for overseas shopping;
- Easy payment with UnionPay and Visa for thousands of international visitors;
- “Shanghai Pass” unlocks transit and iconic tunnels with one ticket
- Trip.com’s “Discover Shanghai” page curates custom adventures
- Menus and food events offered in multiple languages;
- Global festivals and immersive attractions blend culture, music, and art.
The City, The People, The Summer
This campaign isn’t about turning Shanghai into an endless shopping mall. It’s an experiment—one that’s just as likely to reward curiosity as a healthy appetite. City streets have become pop-up stages. Cafés and luxury hotels roll out surprises in three languages. Locals seem to wink as you walk by as if there’s a secret only you are about to discover.
The new www.shanghaisummer.com website (yes, live and ready for sticky-fingered mobile scrolling) turns trip planning into a game, complete with an AI travel companion, “Shanghai Xiaoxia,” who sometimes feels like a friend you’ve known for years. Even global influencers find themselves a little in awe, bouncing between Instagram and TikTok with highlights destined to make even seasoned travelers envious.
From early July to October’s second weekend, Shanghai isn’t just opening its doors—it’s throwing them wide and inviting the world to explore, celebrate, and get a little lost. This isn’t a city just for shopping or sightseeing; it’s a living story that’s still being written, one dumpling and late-night stroll at a time.
