Asian Games host city Hangzhou gives away 1 million gift packs for global tourists

A total of 1 million digital "cultural and tourism gift packs" were made available by Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday to benefit worldwide visitors who plan to come to the city's sports gala - the 19th Asian Games - which is set to open on September 23.

The "gift pack" campaign can be seen as a "global digital marketing maneuver" that highlights Hangzhou's "technological smart nature" while boosting its local cultural tourism that makes the most of the opportunity - the Asian Games, cultural sociologist Chu Xin told the Global Times

A seven-day metro pass is ­included in the gift pack. Also, the campaign is collaborating with local touristic spots in Hangzhou to offer free admission tickets. Other privileges include a 100 yuan ($14) phone card.

The most alluring part of the campaign comes in mid-August, when 100,000 tickets for the Asian Games will be randomly gifted to gift pack recipients.

Chu told the Global Times that the gift pack campaign reflects the local cultural and tourism department's strategy to integrate "travel, tourism and cultural experiences" into digital forms that will not be ­limited by geographical and cultural barriers.

"Such smart technological designs also match the 'Smart Asian Games' theme that is the main gist for the Hangzhou Games this year," Chu noted.

People interested in the campaign can type "Asian Games" into the Alipay app to collect the gift packages. The activity is divided into three phases. The first phase ends on June 10.