by FANG Zhuoran

A West End musical and blockbuster museum shows helped propel Shanghai into the ranks of China's most popular Spring Festival destinations, as the city leveraged performances, exhibitions and themed events to drive holiday spending.

As of February 23, the Shanghai run of the original London West End production of Matilda the Musical had drawn 25,000 theatergoers over two weeks, with additional seats released for several performances, according to Yu Zhenbo, operations head at Seven Ages, the show's producer.

The award-winning production, which opened at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on February 11, became a cultural highlight of the holiday. Yu told Jiemian News that before the break, most ticket buyers were Shanghai-based families, while during the holiday the share of out-of-town visitors rose markedly, particularly from neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Zhang Xiaoding, general manager of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, said earlier that the "ticket stub economy" has increasingly amplified consumption, with one performance ticket typically generating five to seven times its value in related spending. Many visitors now make a show their first stop in Shanghai, combining performances with trips to theme parks and nearby commercial districts.

According to Shanghai tourism big data monitoring, the city received 21.67 million visitors over the nine-day holiday, with total tourism-related transactions — covering dining, accommodation, transport, shopping and entertainment — reaching 25.61 billion yuan. Average hotel occupancy stood at 50.6%, up 3.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

Concerts were another draw. For the first time, Shanghai hosted large-scale pop concerts during the Spring Festival break, including shows by singer Richie Jen and rapper Capper (ZHANG Yanzhuo) . Ticketing platform Damai said 76% of the nearly 11,000 attendees at Capper’s February 22 concert came from outside Shanghai.

Museums and galleries also saw strong turnout. The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism said that by February 20, key cultural venues, including museums and art galleries, had received 397,800 visits. The Shanghai Museum alone welcomed more than 180,000 visitors between February 15 and 21, 83% of them from outside the city.

To mark the Year of the Horse, the museum launched a zodiac-themed exhibition featuring relics such as bronze chariot-and-horse sets from the Leitai Han tomb in Wuwei. Meanwhile, the Museum of Art Pudong broke with past practice by remaining open throughout the holiday, offering four major exhibitions under a single ticket.

The 2026 Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, themed on Shan Hai Jing mythology, drew steady crowds, blending traditional lantern craftsmanship with digital light effects. By February 20, Yuyuan Mall had received 165,400 visitors, up 17.18% year on year, boosting foot traffic at time-honored brands nearby.

Theme parks joined the festive push. Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park incorporated 11 national intangible cultural heritage items into its holiday programming and extended operating hours to 9 pm. The park reported a 24% increase in visitor numbers compared with last year’s holiday.

Taken together, the figures suggest Shanghai's strategy of integrating culture, commerce, tourism, sports and exhibitions is translating into tangible holiday gains — with performances and exhibitions increasingly serving as anchors for broader urban consumption.