East China's metropolis Shanghai is leveraging professional trading platforms to facilitate the precise alignment between the development of sports intangible assets and market resources, fully unlocking the new momentum of sports consumption.
In a shopping mall located in Xuhui District, an amateur kickboxing competition was enthusiastically organized. Featuring a standard boxing ring, stunning lighting effects, and high-definition four-sided screens, drawing many spectators.
"It was quite interesting. It was right inside the shopping mall. Initially, we accompanied the child to participate in a competition held nearby. The boxing competition was very interesting, so we watched it together with the kid," said a resident.
Recently, Shanghai launched a seven-month sports consumption festival, featuring not only boxing matches but also basketball games and darts competitions. During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, in just the Xuhui commercial district, 16 sports events were held, with over 4,300 direct participants. These events collectively attracted 263,700 visitors, generating a turnover exceeding 10 million yuan (about 1.39 million U.S. dollars).
To efficiently connect the vast amount of sports event resources with multiple market entities, Shanghai, relying on the Shanghai Exchange Group, has launched the country's first sports resource trading platform to integrate public sports resources and encourage market participation.
This platform opens up event resources to commercial real estate, tourism platforms, financial institutions and other market entities, promoting negotiations and transactions between both sides. As a result, it allocates event traffic to market entities and helps event organizers find resource support, such as financial services, commercial facilities, and publicity and promotion.
"We will adopt various flexible trading methods. Starting from listing, we further leverage the professional and market-oriented service functions of our own platform to realize the value exploration of intangible assets and further release the spillover effect of the entire sports industry," explained Huang Ying, general manager of the public resources trading center at the Shanghai Exchange Group.
Shanghai speeds up integration of business, sports to boost consumption
Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province saw a soaring number of visitors from abroad on Thursday, the first day of 2026 and also the opening day of China's three-day New Year holiday, as festive celebrations unfolded across the city.
Major border checkpoints in the city recorded peak inbound passenger flows, with large numbers of travelers from Hong Kong, Macao and overseas entering the city to experience its vibrant holiday vibes.
"I'm so happy 'cause this is the first day of 2026, and I'm bringing my friends to visit Shenzhen," said a visitor from Hong Kong.
International tourists also shared their excitement.
"It's a very modern city and it's interesting to see such a New Year Eve in such a city," said an overseas visitor.
The inbound passenger flow at Luohu Port peaked from 8:00 to 20:00 on Thursday, said an officer there, adding the average daily passenger flow during the New Year break is expected to reach about 240,000.
At the West Kowloon Station port, eye-catching red decorations themed around the upcoming 2026 Spring Festival which will mark the beginning of the Year of the Horse added to the festive mood.
As a key transportation hub of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the port also saw heavy two-way passenger traffic. Daily cross-border passenger flow there is expected to average around 100,000 during the holiday.
An Australian tourist said he was looking forward to his trip to south China.
"I am from Melbourne, Australia and I'm coming to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China. I'm excited to see all the tall buildings, especially all the ones that light up and experience a new culture in China." said a tourist.
Outside the ports, celebrations were in full swing as the city prepared for rising visitor numbers.
A large-scale parade featuring more than 30 themed formations kicked off in the morning along the 1.6-kilometer Festival Avenue in Shenzhen's Futian District.
The event drew huge crowds with inflatable cartoon characters, lively drum performances, and traditional Yingge Dance -- a form of folk dance popular in south China's Guangdong Province that merges opera, dance, and martial arts.
Nearby commercial zones also rolled out special consumption coupons, allowing visitors to enjoy a one-stop experience combining festive celebrations and shopping.
"The atmosphere is really nice. We feel very welcomed here. It's a very, very international vibe", said an international visitor.
China continues to grow in popularity as a destination for overseas travelers. Data from online tourism platforms show that inbound flight bookings to China rose 20 percent year on year on the first day of the holiday, with Shenzhen ranking fifth among the country's most popular inbound travel destinations.
"On the first day of holiday, international flight ticket purchases to Shenzhen has increased by 52.5 percent while the international flight bookings to the city has grown by 33 percent," said Shi Ke, a researcher from big data research institute of Qunar, an online travel service provider.
Shenzhen embraces influx of visitors on first day of 2026
