As New Year's Day approaches, major business districts in Shanghai are introducing innovative consumption formats, models, and scenarios. By blending culture, tourism, commerce, and sports, they provide citizens and tourists with a vibrant array of experiences.
Xuhui Riverside, an open-air urban living room along the Huangpu River, which is rich in artistic atmosphere and sporting energy, is becoming a popular destination for this new consumption trend. A newly opened 1,500-square-meter outdoor ice rink is the largest of its kind in downtown Shanghai, offering riverside skating and live performances.
On New Year's Eve, all waterfront restaurants along the promenade were fully booked. It is estimated that the number of customers during the three-day holiday from Thursday to Saturday will increase by about 30 percent compared to usual.
Visitors can stroll through the marketplace, enjoy the river view in the evening, watch music performances, interact with parade teams, and then find a restaurant for a good meal. This way of welcoming the New Year outdoors will become a new trend in New Year's Day holiday consumption in Shanghai this year.
Other major commercial districts in Shanghai have also continuously innovated consumption scenarios and integrated diverse business formats to offer more options for citizens and tourists by renovating old streets and launching interactive activities such as exhibitions, performances, and theatrical parades.
Shanghai's business circles create new consumption scenarios before New Year's Day
China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), has strengthened the record-filing and review work, with a focus on supporting the private economy.
A total of 2,309 regulations and judicial interpretations were filed with China's national legislature to be recorded and reviewed in 2025.
The figure was announced during 19th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, which was held from Monday to Saturday.
According to a report submitted to the session for deliberation by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee on Monday on its 2025 record-filing and review work, the commission also received 6,705 review suggestions from Chinese citizens and organizations in 2025.
A key focus in the legislative review of regulatory documents this year is a comprehensive screening of existing regulations and rules to better support market vitality. Since the Private Economy Promotion Law took effect in May, the NPC Standing Committee has organized a nationwide review of existing regulatory documents, identifying over 1,400 that merit immediate revision or repeal.
Most of the problematic provisions were found in local-level rules that improperly set market access barriers or limited financing channels for private firms. Lawmakers say the majority of these clauses have already been amended or scrapped.
The move marks a concrete step toward building a unified national market that remains open, fair and transparent, underpinned by the rule of law, according to the legislature.
China's top legislature steps up legislative review to support private economy
