Visitors to Shanghai get a pass on tourist attractions

Shanghai Pass, a QR code pass that gives access to more than 50 landmark tourist attractions, was launched yesterday.

The pass, in both Chinese and English, has six packages which range from one to seven days.

The package covering the most scenic spots — 54 of them — costs 348 yuan ($50.4) for one day, 498 yuan for two days and 589 yuan for three days, and allows tourists to visit one, two and three type-A attractions, respectively, and any type-B attraction.

The five type-A attractions are the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Changfeng Ocean World, Shanghai World Financial Center, Madame Tussauds Shanghai wax museum and Shanghai Dungeon.

The Huangpu River cruise tour, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai Great World, known as Dashijie, Fengjing Ancient Town and Shanghai Grandview Garden, which is the fictional residence of the rich family in the classic "A Dream of Red Mansions," are among type-B attractions.

The pass also includes Shanghai's sightseeing hop-on and hop-off bus as well as the maglev train.

The English-version pass is now available on trip.com, operated by Shanghai's online travel operator Ctrip.

Shanghai's outbound tourism is booming, but the growth of inbound tourism is slow, according to Xu Ting, secretary-general of the Shanghai Tourism Industry Association.

"The pass provides a one-stop service and offers big discounts to tourists, making travel in Shanghai more convenient and cost-efficient," she said.

Lu Jiangtao, director of the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism's promotion department, added: "The pass is the application of intelligent tourism, and it tackles both the sightseeing and transport demands of tourists."

The pass aims to satisfy the diversified travel demand of independent travelers.