Ready to embark on a global tour? The 15th Shanghai World Travel Fair (SWTF 2018) kicked off at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in Jing’an district yesterday. The four-day carnival has attracted 750 exhibitors from 53 countries and areas, including Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Peru, Marianas Islands, Cuba and Japan. The travel fair will showcase the latest ways to travel.

The tourist destination services launched by travel agency Tuniu this year cover travel wedding dress photography across the globe and include more than 200 tourist destinations like the Maldives, Mauritius, Bali Island, Greece, and Paris. Tourists can also rent photography equipment to take photos on their own.

Virtual reality technology will allow visitors to experience the white beaches and crystal clear waters of the Marianas Islands. Turkey has brought along a Trojan Horse, while Sri Lanka and Egypt will showcase their traditional dances in their exhibition areas. Shanghai, as the host city, will display such souvenirs as Shikumen-themed coasters.

The wide variety of tour products is also a highlight of this travel fair. Zunyi in Guizhou Province, for example, has combined “red tourism” and traditional tea culture to offer an itinerary for tourists to visit such tourist attractions as the Zunyi Meeting Site and experience the tea production process, while enjoying the beautiful scenery of vast tea farms in Meitan County.

Travel to hot springs has been rising in popularity in China and a dedicated exhibition space is set up for hot spring travel in this year’s event. Hot springs will receive more than 1 billion visits in 2020 across the country, with total travel industry revenue predicted to top 100 billion yuan and tax revenues amounting to 5.5 billion yuan, according to industry experts.