SHANGHAI, Feb. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On February 1, the inaugural "Discover Shanghai" travel guide competition, organized by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, concluded with an awards ceremony broadcast live globally by Dragon TV. Spanning months, the event garnered over 8,000 submissions, 250 million+ online views, and 83,000 offline participants, showing public co-creation's lasting vitality for Shanghai's cultural and tourism sectors.
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The professional category delivered tangible results and valuable insights for this industry. From 640 preliminary submissions recommended by district authorities, 150 high-quality travel guides advanced to the finals, with a total of 50 first-, second- and third-prize winners, along with 50 single-category award recipients. Nearly one-third of the shortlisted works have been transformed into bookable tourism products, providing high-quality offerings for the Spring Festival tourism market.
The public category sparked a citywide celebration of tourism. More than 8,000 entries were submitted, helping push views of related topics on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) beyond 250 million. From polished professional videos to spontaneous, heartfelt user-generated content, and from iconic landmarks to lesser-known hidden gems, these diverse works vividly showcased Shanghai as a vibrant, dynamic and welcoming city. The hashtag "DiscoverShanghaiAtHalfPrice" repeatedly climbed local trending charts, establishing new tourism labels for the city as both affordable and experience-rich.
Cross-sector innovation emerged in the AI music creation category. Over 1,600 original songs, blending poetic expression with Shanghai's landmarks, accumulated over 1.83 million plays, opening a new pathway for promoting cultural tourism through travel, music, and technology integration.
Offline engagement further validated the competition's impact. During the New Year holiday, a citywide check-in campaign featuring 351 locations and 28 themed routes attracted 83,000 attendances within three days.
The true value of the competition was ultimately reflected in the market's positive response. Online searches for Shanghai-related keywords, including attractions, hotels, and restaurants, surged on Douyin. During the Spring Festival holiday, Shanghai will launch 2,570 cultural and tourism activities, alongside extensive discounts and joint promotions with major attractions, airlines, and online travel platforms.
Beyond short-term popularity, the competition has established a sustainable model of public co-creation, in which user-generated content drives online traffic, professional institutions convert creativity into bookable products, and government provides policy support. The virtuous cycle continues to activate Shanghai's cultural and tourism resources across the city, uncovering new scenarios, new content, and new products.
Drawn from thousands of creative works and large-scale offline participants, Shanghai proves that the key to high-quality tourism development lies in the boundless potential of public co-creation. Although the inaugural competition has concluded, the innovation and the enthusiasm it has sparked continue to grow.
Source: Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism
Contact person: Ms. Zhu, Tel: 86-10-63074558
