The Shanghai International Film Festival has not only drawn cinephiles with its star-studded lineup but also ignited a surge in demand for festival-themed merchandise, as fans eagerly snap up cultural and creative products to commemorate the event.
The 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) opened on Friday. As part of the festivities, a SIFF pop-up store has been launched at the Shanghai Film Art Center, offering limited-edition merchandise that capture the attention of film enthusiasts.
This year's film festival features its largest-ever cultural and creative product lineup, with products in over 30 categories. The offerings, with more than 60 new designs, range from plush keychains and building-shaped fridge magnets, to art-inspired bookmarks.
"One of our umbrellas has sold far better than we expected, leading to some temporary stockouts in certain areas," said Fu Zhenyan, supervisor for cultural and creative products at the Shanghai International Film and TV Center.
"The Shanghai International Film Festival is held in June every year, which is the rainy season in Shanghai. We've always hoped the festival would release umbrella-themed cultural and creative products. And today, I was lucky enough to finally buy one," said Tao Ye, a film enthusiast who bought the umbrella.
Among the cultural products designed for the section of Tribute to Masters at the film festival, fridge magnets featuring iconic imagery from American filmmaker David Lynch's movies have become highly sought-after.
Meanwhile, the film festival debuted its first-ever cultural and creative products inspired by the Golden Goblet Award, aiming to cultivate its own original intellectual property (IP).
"We hope to develop this into our own IP, allowing film enthusiasts to feel an even deeper emotional connection with the Shanghai International Film Festival," said Mao Xueying, a member of the design team for the festival's cultural and creative products.
Cultural, creative products at Shanghai Film Festival snapped up by cinephiles
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
