‘Spring economy’ fuels local growth

Staff Reporters

THIS spring, scenic locations and retail complexes in Jiading are initiating a range of events to stimulate consumption, such as flower-viewing excursions and cul-tural activities.

Featuring cultural exhibitions and folk experiences surrounding the large pear orchard, Yunong Manor hosted the 3rd Jiading-Kunshan-Taicang Collaborative innovation Core Circle Pear Blos-som Festival.

Local restaurants’ revenue is up 20 percent, and homestay occu-pancy is over 90 percent, thanks to the festival.

The “flower-viewing economy plus” approach has improved tourist experiences while also encouraging the convergence of agriculture, culture and tourism.

At Juyuan Orchard, some 6,000 tulips are in bloom, and activities such as face painting and lacquer fan painting are available.

Jiabei Country Park is filled with a wide diversity of flowers. On the final weekend of March, the num-ber of daily visitors exceeded 6,000 due to nature education programs and camping activities.

Travel service platforms show that searches for “spring outings” and “flower viewing” jumped by 460 percent since March. Additionally, ticket bookings for flower attractions during the Qingming Festival holiday have increased six times compared to last year.

The 2025 shanghai Citizens Art Festival started on March 29 at Life hub@Anting. it mixed art and business with live shows and exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage. During that weekend, the number of visitors went up by 12 percent compared to the pre-vious month, and sales rose by 7 percent.

Jiading iMiX Park introduced programs centered on family engagement and cultural experiences. On March 29 and 30, these activities attracted around 116,000 visitors, up 26.55 percent compared to the previous year.

Wisteria, a signature attraction of Jiading, is in full bloom in April, and businesses near the Jiading Wisteria Garden are rolling out themed offerings.

Jiading Mansion serves wiste-ria-themed afternoon teas in its garden. Jiafu Restaurant on Qinghe Road offers discounts to customers with photos featuring wisteria.

Customers savor wisteria-themed desserts in the garden. — Zhou Yulin