Shanghai’s first livestreaming festival was launched in the Hongqiao area in Changning District yesterday to boost online consumption as part of the city’s ongoing Double Five Shopping Festival.

The Shanghai Livestreaming and E-commerce Festival, hosted by the city’s commerce commission and Changning government, will feature more than 60 online promotional events through Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of products from home and abroad will be sold online through various livestreaming events during the festival.

More than 10 e-commerce platforms, mostly based in Changning, such as Pinduoduo, JD, Suning, Douyin and Ctrip, as well as commercial complexes like Bailian, will host livestreaming promotions.

During the first Double Five Shopping Festival in 2020, the “Quality Life Livestreaming Week,” attracted online and offline sales totaling 5 billion yuan (US$772 million).

Another Livestreaming Week in November with over 10,000 events attracted 600 million online and 9 billion yuan in online sales, said Gu Jun, director of the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital services became a lifeline for the millions of people subjected to lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders.

The event also marks the beginning of the annual shopping festival in Changning, which is themed on “Digitalized Changning” and “Hongqiao Go.” New products and brands will be released along with prosperous nighttime businesses.