Spring Festival Gala broadcast boost tourism in Wuxi

China

Spring Festival Gala broadcast boost tourism in Wuxi

2025-01-31 02:23 Last Updated At：10:37

The eastern Chinese city of Wuxi is welcoming an increased number of tourists during the ongoing Spring Festival, with many visitors attracted by its unique water town views showcased in the 2025 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala television broadcast.

The gala, an extravaganza of Spring Festival celebrations, featured four sub-venues besides the main stage in Beijing this year, including Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.

Among all the scenic Wuxi landmarks shown in the gala, the Qingming Bridge Historical and Cultural Block in the centuries-old water town has become a tourist hotspot.

Local businesses are benefiting from the boom. Among them is a cultural and creative product store called "Canal Souvenirs."

"Since our Canal Souvenirs was officially announced as one of the gala-themed attractions, especially with our dedicated area for CMG cultural and creative products, many visitors have come specifically to check it out. Our brand awareness has increased both online and offline. Compared to the same period last year, our sales have grown by about 145 percent. The gala has truly brought us a lot of popularity," said Ge Ling, an employee at the shop.

Both out-of-town visitors and local residents are eager to explore the beauty of the Qingming Bridge area firsthand.

"Since the Spring Festival Gala sub-venue is here, we rented some traditional ethnic costumes to capture this special moment," said tourist Zhang Laxue.

"As a Wuxi local, I feel so proud that our city was chosen as a sub-venue. The crowds are much bigger than before, and I can truly feel the enthusiasm of the people here," said local resident Shen Jiayi.

According to data from online e travel platforms, Wuxi's popularity surged by 185 percent on Chinese New Year's Eve and the first day of the holiday, with total tourist visits reaching 2.28 million -- up nearly 17 percent from the previous year. Visitors from outside Jiangsu Province now account for nearly 75 percent of all tourists, marking a 39 percent increase.

"The Spring Festival Gala sub-venue has brought tremendous exposure to the historical city of Wuxi. Scenic spots are packed with visitors, and commercial districts are also thriving," said Huang Weigong, director of Wuxi's Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism.

The 2025 Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, fell on Wednesday this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.