Shanghai has pioneered a smart parking management system in old residential complexes, combining digital innovation with grassroots governance to address urban parking challenges.
The pilot program at Heng'an Neighborhoood in Linfen Road Subdistrict of Jing'an District demonstrates Shanghai's commitment to applying digital city solutions while improving residents' quality of life. Built in the 1980s, the neighborhood is home to 400 vehicles with only 285 parking spaces. To tackle the parking issue, the community has implemented a blockchain-powered platform that enables transparent parking allocation through mobile applications. The system allows residents to check real-time parking availability and join digital waiting lists via smartphone, significantly improving management efficiency. "Now with this system, we can see exactly how many vehicles are ahead in the queue and get a clear estimate of when our turn will come," said Zhang Judi, a resident of the neighborhood.
Complementing the digital transformation, the community has added parking spaces by repurposing internal communal areas, and reached shared parking agreements with nearby communities to meet the parking demand of the residents. "First, we're maximizing the potential in communal areas to create additional parking spaces. We're also piloting public parking expansion projects in several residential compounds across our subdistrict to increase parking spaces," said Li Yongbo, head of Linfen Road Subdistrict.
Shanghai pilots smart parking system to address parking challenge
Film-themed tourist destinations across China saw a surge in visitor numbers during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, as the traditional festival overlapped with new spring break in several regions, creating a longer travel window and boosting domestic tourism.
The Tangcheng Film and Television Base in Xiangyang City in central China's Hubei Province, laid on extra events to take advantage of the overlapping holidays, resulting in a healthy rise in visitor numbers.
"During this year's Qingming holiday, we received a total of 71,800 visits, up 24 percent year on year compared with 2025. Thanks to the spring break policy this year, our peak tourism season started earlier than before. It also brought in more cross-provincial tourists to our scenic area, and both the visitor volume and the proportion of tourists from other provinces increased," said Wang Liang, general manager of the Tangcheng Film and Television Base.
To entertain the visitors, Tangcheng hosted a series of all-day interactive performances and themed programs, offering tourists an immersive experience built around traditional culture and film production settings.
Similar scenes were reported in east China's Zhejiang Province, where the Hengdian World Studios, one of the largest active film and television studios in the world, also welcomed a wave of tourists.
Family visitors, particularly parents traveling with children, were the main drivers of the tourism boom, according to the scenic area.
"We are here in Hengdian mainly thanks to the spring break. My child has worked hard at school so I think she can take a break here," a tourist said.
Local hospitality business operators in the area also noted visitor flows were significantly higher than in previous years, with family travel rising sharply.
Several provinces across the country introduced their first-ever spring break this year. The break typically lasts two or three days, but falls at different times. In some areas, the break comes just before the three-day Qingming Festival in early April, while in others it extends into the May Day holiday or is combined with weekends, resulting in a break of five to eight days.
The new vacation not only allows children to connect with nature in spring and reduces students' academic burden, but also creates a window for family travel, which is expected to boost tourism and consumption.
Overlapping holidays boost tourism at China's film-themed attractions
