Shanghai has emerged as a top overseas destination for Japanese travelers during Japan's Golden Week, with tourist numbers surging 2.6 times compared to last year, according to data from airlines and tourism operators.
This year's Golden Week in Japan, which coincided with China's May Day holiday, brought a wave of Japanese tourists to Shanghai, fueled by convenient travel connections and China's reinstated visa-free policy for Japanese citizens.
"Currently, there are nine flights daily from Tokyo to Shanghai -- four from Narita and five from Haneda. Compared to last year, seat occupancy on these flights has risen by 10.3 percent during the Golden Week," said Cai Zhen, director of the Haneda Airport Office of Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines.
Strolling through Yu Garden, eating soup dumplings, enjoying The Bund's night view, and watching acrobatic shows have become the classic "must-do trio" for Japanese tourists in Shanghai, with Shanghai Disneyland also attracting many families for a memorable visit.
"The atmosphere at The Bund is amazing. It's kind of like Yokohama, but grander. The environment blends the old with the new beautifully," said one Japanese traveler.
"I've been to Shanghai before and loved it. I definitely want to come back," said another Japanese traveler.
"The streets are so clean, and places like The Bund feel very European. Disneyland is newer and more high-tech than Tokyo's. Honestly, if you visit Shanghai Disneyland first, Tokyo's might feel a bit underwhelming," said a Japanese traveler.
Shanghai tourism booms during Japan’s Golden Week
China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.
Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.
Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.
"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.
China's development never a threat: FM spokesman
