Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, October 7 (Reporters Qi Xinyuan and Sang Tong) During the National Day holiday, it has been rainy in Shanghai for days. On the Jiuqu Bridge in Yu Garden, there is an endless stream of foreign tourists holding umbrellas. Russian tourists Sasha and Katya came out of a souvenir shop, each holding a cup of milk tea in their hands, and the newly purchased sachets had been hung on their backpacks. "Shanghai is so interesting!" Katya said excitedly, "We just arrived and we can't help but buy a lot of things."
In the Yuyuan subway station, the city's departure tax refund "purchase and refund" refund point has been stationed in the subway public space for the first time. It is linked and complementary with the main refund point in the Yuyuan business district. Overseas tourists can walk to and from the scenic spot, business district and the subway convenient tax refund point in 5 minutes. Consumption, exchange, and tax refund can be solved in one stop.
During the National Day holiday, foreign tourists visited Yu Garden in Shanghai and took photos in the rain. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Qi Xinyuan
From visiting China's scenic spots, to experiencing tea culture, night tours in the city, exploring old streets and taking high-speed trains - this way of travel has a new term on overseas social platforms: "Chinamaxxing" (extreme Chineseization). More and more foreign tourists are extending their travel vision from well-known scenic spots to more daily and lively corners of Chinese life.
At the Huxinting Teahouse in Yuyuan Garden, Dutch tourist Richard de Vries experienced an authentic tea culture. "Chinese tea is very good, and the tea ceremony retains many traditional things," he said. Richard and his wife tasted a lot of Chinese food, and even picked out a jade handicraft here to take back to the Netherlands. "There are carvings inside the sphere. I have never seen such a delicate work of art." He said while gesturing.
From the traditional culture in the old city to the modern urban landscape along the Huangpu River, "Chinamaxxing" has more and more ways to open it. "The scenery on the Bund is so beautiful!" Standing on the viewing platform, German tourist Marcus Friedrich admired the tall buildings of Lujiazui on the opposite bank. "I like the city skyline of Shanghai very much." During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the Huangpu River and Suzhou River launched a number of special themed routes. Tea culture, light and shadow, music and other elements were integrated into the cruise experience, and the water space became another way to experience the city.
Urban experience continues to be enriched, and consumption enthusiasm is also increasing. "I'm very surprised that there are so many international big names here." Marcus sighed after visiting Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, HKRI Taikoo Hui and other business districts and commercial landmarks. In Shanghai's major business districts, international brands, Chinese time-honored brands and new products from their first stores gather together, making them shopping destinations for many foreign tourists.
Outside large shopping malls, specialty shops hidden in streets and alleys are also welcoming more and more foreign faces. In the Gao Lei jewelry store in Tianzifang, Alessia and Fabiola from Brazil carefully examined the wall-to-wall embroidered earrings and cloisonné bracelets. "These trinkets are so exquisite!" Fabiola picked up a hairpin and said, "Each one is irresistible."
Consumption scenarios are increasingly enriched, and supporting services continue to improve. During the National Day, Shanghai's Nanjing Road business district launched multiple consumer activities, including Super Brand Day, IP flash mobs, new product launches and other activities. Various inbound consumption coupons provided shopping subsidies for overseas tourists. Payment convenience extends to small shops in the streets. China Construction Bank Shanghai Branch launched an all-in-one card and code machine that integrates touch, scan and voice broadcast. It not only supports code scanning, but also directly accepts overseas credit cards. Ms. Gao, the owner of Tianzifang Gaolei Jewelry Store, said: "We have many foreign customers coming here. It is much more convenient to use this machine to collect money than before."
Buy with peace of mind and return easily. According to relevant sources from the tax department, Shanghai has currently built a "purchase and refund" service network consisting of 36 city-wide refund points, 18 centralized refund points and multiple single-store refund points. It has also promoted paperless processing of departure tax refunds and integrated tax refund policies, electronic maps and other functions into the mobile service platform. The bilingual version of the departure tax refund map manual is also distributed through large hotels and tourism information service centers to help overseas tourists understand the policy and find processing points.
From January to August this year, 23.72 million foreigners entered the country without visas, a year-on-year increase of 26.8%, accounting for 77.6% of foreign arrivals in the same period. In the first half of the year, Shanghai received 5.3149 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 27.82%. From January to September, Shanghai's departure tax refund sales increased by 52% year-on-year, the number of departure tax refund applications issued increased by 2.7 times year-on-year, "buy now and refund" sales increased by 1.4 times year-on-year, and the cumulative number of tax refund stores registered exceeded 2,700.
During the National Day, the waiting hall of Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station was crowded with people. Many foreign tourists were dragging their suitcases and preparing to rush to the next city. Belgian tourist Lott is waiting for a high-speed train bound for Hangzhou. "My experience in Shanghai is very good. It's convenient for shopping and transportation. I hope to visit more cities during this trip to China."
From "China Travel" to "Chinamaxxing", foreign tourists' travel in China is moving from checking in at attractions to the depths of the city, from exploring a city to experiencing a true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China more deeply. (Intern: Chen Chen)
