A cultural promotion event for Jingmen City of central China's Hubei Province was held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday to foster city-to-city exchanges.
Organized by the Jingmen Municipal Government and the Federation of Hong Kong Hubei Associations, the event aims to further enhance the interactive development between Hubei and Hong Kong.
The event sought to promote Jingmen's cultural spirit and foster mutual understanding between the two regions, contributing to high-quality development. Over 300 guests from various sectors attended the gathering.
Bernard Chan Pak-li, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the HKSAR, delivered opening remarks. He highlighted Jingmen's strong growth in sectors such as agricultural processing, green chemicals, new energy materials, cultural tourism, and technological innovation.
Looking ahead, he stated, the HKSAR government aims to strengthen cooperation with Jingmen in areas such as financial collaboration, overseas market expansion, industrial transformation, application of scientific and technological achievements, and green economic development.
During the event, the region's sports, leisure, culture, and tourism were highlighted. A cooperation framework agreement was signed between the two sides.
Cultural event for Jingmen held in HK to promote city-to-city exchanges
The number of temporary accommodation registrations of foreign nationals in Shanghai hit a record high of 7.139 million in 2025, up 49.6 percent from the previous year, the Exit-Entry Administration Corps of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The figure, which had already doubled in 2024, points to a continued rise in the number of foreign nationals visiting and staying in the city, highlighting the metropolis's growing appeal to international visitors.
Shanghai also issued more than 200,000 visas and residence permits to foreigners for the second consecutive year in 2025.
Long-term permits, including residence permits, accounted for a share 10 percentage points higher than the previous year, reflecting growing demand for extended stays.
Officials said the increase mirrors Shanghai's expanding openness and improving services for foreign visitors and residents.
"In 2025, Shanghai processed 7.139 million temporary accommodation registrations for foreigners. Following a doubling from the year before last, the figure rose by another 49.6 percent year on year, marking a historical high in the number of foreign nationals coming to Shanghai," said Song Weiqi, deputy head of the administration corps.
Accommodation registrations are required for foreigners staying in China. In 2025, 94.7 percent of temporary accommodation registrations were handled directly by hotels, resulting in a convenient check-in process.
Among foreigners residing in Shanghai's residential communities, 84.8 percent opted for online self-reporting via a multilingual platform that offers efficient, flexible registration.
Meanwhile, to ease the surge in passport applications for foreign travel ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday in mid-February, the administration corps announced plans to extend service hours for residents.
Shanghai hits a record-high 7.14 million expat accommodation registrations in 2025
