China Youth Daily: Shanghai welcomes guests from all over the world to attend the 'Expo Invitation'

The 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th. In recent days, reporters have found that the whole city of Shanghai has been filled with a strong sense of 'entering the world'.
The Jinbo Market, located on the 4th floor of the Tourist Goods Mall on Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street in Shanghai, has become a popular check-in spot for many Chinese and foreign tourists in recent days. The market features blind boxes of cultural and creative products from the Damascus National Museum in Syria, durian ice cream from Malaysia's Cat Mountain King, and eco-friendly bags from the British pioneer environmental brand Nuterm, all of which are rare items not found on the market.
As the CIIE approaches, various sectors in Shanghai are gearing up to welcome participants from around the world.
A passport to enter Shanghai, travel all over Shanghai
To further amplify the spillover effects of the CIIE, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, in collaboration with multiple departments, has planned and launched the "CIIE Exclusive · Spillover Linkage" project. In terms of policies, the first "CIIE Spillover Linkage Policy Package" has been released; In terms of culture and tourism, we have launched five major themes, over 80 boutique tourism projects, and exclusive discounts; At the event, 50 events including the 2025 Shanghai "Import Shopping Festival" and "National Product Culture Colorful Month" were held. At the same time, a "Import Expo Special Line" consisting of Bus Route 71 and trolleybus will be established, and on-site service points will be set up for the overflow linkage of the Import Expo.
One entry permit will unlock a full set of "exclusive entry rights package" in Shanghai, which includes over 80 benefits. Holders of the certificate can visit 8 ancient water towns, 4 famous Pujiang landmarks, 16 boutique cultural spaces, 50 Yangtze River Delta tour routes, as well as free rides on Route 71 and 11 sightseeing buses in Shanghai at a price as low as 50% off.
The "CIIE Special Line" of the 7th CIIE has achieved good results. Last November, nearly 500 trains departed, with a total of over 56000 passengers. This year, in addition to the star bus route 71 that carries the red memory of Shanghai, there is also the "century old bus" tram joining in. People can take the most beautiful route in Shanghai and visit 14 punch in points, including the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, and Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art. About 580 bus waiting halls in the city will also roll and play the Shanghai city image film "Shanghai · City of Momentum" from the 8th CIIE, actively amplifying the volume of the "CIIE Special Line".
In terms of policies, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, the Shanghai Taxation Bureau, the Shanghai Customs, and the Hongqiao International Central Business District Management Committee have jointly launched the "Spillover Linkage Policy Package for the Import Expo" for the first time, covering the first economic launch, exit tax refund, post exhibition purchase, sales of imported exhibits, convenient entry and exit services, and supporting policies for the Hongqiao Business District. The relevant measures will continue to be implemented until 2029.
And the "Import Shopping Festival" coincides with the "Double Eleven". Since its inception in 2020, it has launched nearly 300 import themed promotional activities, driving a total sales volume of about 6 billion yuan for imported goods. The "Colorful Month of National Commodity Culture" is committed to building an international platform for economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchange, promoting mutual understanding and integration between different cultures. This year, nearly 50 special activities incorporating elements of the CIIE will be launched to help more high-quality global products enter the Chinese market.
In addition, at the end of October, Shanghai held a special training on improving the quality of tourism accommodation services to "recharge" the reception services for the CIIE. Han Xiangyuan, General Manager of Shanghai Silver Star Crowne Plaza Hotel, introduced that the hotel has launched a "cultural tourism+accommodation" feature mode for the CIIE, designed customized itineraries such as "strolling through Hudec architecture" and "movie themed afternoon tea", and also launched "movie star light and shadow salon" and "Pingtan cultural experience", allowing guests to experience the charm of Shanghai culture during busy itineraries.
Customs and taxation have successively launched the "Import Expo Green Pass"
At around 10:00 am on October 28th, Shanghai Wusong Port saw a peak in the import of imported Expo exhibits in the form of sea freight distribution. This is the largest batch of exhibits imported through sea freight distribution channels at the 8th CIIE in terms of quantity and category. This batch of exhibits includes wine, tea, dried fruits from various African countries, as well as fruit juice, honey, drinking water, etc. from New Zealand and other countries, totaling 12 batches and 4.7 tons. Animal models and other decorations are also imported to decorate the African style exhibition booth.
Under the supervision of Shanghai Wusong Customs, a subsidiary of Shanghai Customs, sea freight LCL was opened. After the supervision was completed, these goods were sent to the main venue of the expo, "Four Leaf Clover," for exhibition.
Compared to previous years, the import peak for sea freight distribution channels has been delayed by about a week. Some exhibitors have introduced that this is their "best inspection time" based on past experience. In the past 7 years, the reputation of Shanghai Customs for "high work efficiency and fast clearance speed of goods" has made exhibitors more confident in time management.
We have set up a 'special window for entering the Expo' in advance to contact relevant enterprises, carry out policy promotion, collect enterprise needs, understand the situation of goods, and maximize the efficiency of customs clearance for exhibits, "said Wu Tian, Deputy Director of Logistics Monitoring Department 2 at Shanghai Wusong Customs.
It is reported that due to the large variety of goods exhibited at some CIIE, and the small quantity of each category of goods, relevant exhibitors are more willing to choose the method of joint container load declaration for import. Compared to ordinary full container goods, LCL imported goods require higher customs clearance efficiency and regulatory processes. Exhibitors are more concerned about clearance speed and exhibition protection measures.
To this end, Shanghai Wusong Customs has formulated a series of convenient measures, including setting up a dedicated area and storage space for goods entering the Expo, and arranging dedicated personnel to supervise and provide services; The exhibition allocation declaration can be processed online, including immediate declaration and release. This has created enough time for our subsequent work arrangements, "said Ma Xiaoxu, the head of the logistics operation team of COSCO Shipping Import Expo.
On the other hand, there are also many tax related issues at the CIIE. The Shanghai tax department has entered a state of service guarantee sprint ahead of schedule, strengthening the multilingual tax volunteer service force to provide more convenient, efficient, and warm tax related guarantees for guests from all over the world.
The main venue of the CIIE, "Four Leaf Clover", is located in Qingpu District, Shanghai. The tax department of the district has stepped up the launch of the "Shanghai Yue Refund · Departure Peace of Mind" service mechanism, focusing on the actual needs of overseas tourists in shopping tax refunds and other aspects, continuously optimizing the layout of branches and back-end technical support.
We have set up self-service departure tax refund terminals in key commercial areas such as Qingpu Outlets. At the same time, we have set up a departure tax refund store in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town to accurately connect with cultural and tourism consumption scenarios, making it easy for overseas tourists to receive tax refunds. "Wang Moxin, a staff member of the Goods and Services Tax Department of Qingpu District Taxation Bureau, said that Zhujiajiao Ancient Town has received 4.53 million tourists this year, of which nearly 30% are foreign tourists. The newly established tax refund outlets effectively cover this" high-frequency cultural and tourism "area.
The tax department also customizes exclusive service plans for key participating enterprises. Previously, the Shanghai tax department moved its services forward and took the lead in launching the "Pre Exhibition Demand Survey Action". By regularly visiting exhibition organizers and key exhibitors in the region, one-on-one exchanges were carried out around core aspects such as exhibition arrangements, exhibit circulation, and sales models, and a "Enterprise Demand Ledger" was established.
More and more administrative matters can be handled 'on the cloud', saving time and energy, "said Zhang Chen, the financial director of global yeast giant Lesaffre Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. This year, Lesaffre will launch multiple new products suitable for the Chinese market, including a fully imported debut product.
It is reported that considering the practical needs of international exhibitors for policy interpretation, Shanghai Taxation has launched a new "Service Import Expo Bilingual Handbook (Version 8.0)" and assembled a multilingual volunteer service team to provide "native language" tax consultation for exhibitors from French and Japanese regions.
Let foreign friends experience the 'cleanest city'
Greening and beautifying the city is the "facade" of Shanghai. In the past two days, the Shanghai Greening and Beautification Bureau, together with 38 units, has coordinated the implementation of the city's 2020 CIIE Green Appearance Guarantee Task, dynamically inspected and issued more than 3000 rectification issues.
The South Square of "Four Leaf Clover" is a must visit spot for visitors to the CIIE every year. It requires the completion of over 8000 square meters of green landscape layout, adopting a spatial layout of "Yunshan Terraced Fields Flower Sea River Modern City Garden". Various flowers outline auspicious clouds, gradient cloud mountains and other patterns. The letters "CIIE" and "2025" and the number "8" are eye-catching, and colorful flags fly on both sides of the square, showcasing Shanghai's open mindedness and embrace of the world.
Interestingly, there are also 24 solar term landscape columns arranged here. The combination of various lighting fixtures and decorative light strips showcases the beauty of the magnificent rivers, mountains, and nature of China in all directions and at multiple times.
Important transportation nodes have also been revitalized. The second floor corridor connecting the Hongqiao International Central Business District and the main venue of the CIIE is one of the important passages for exhibition guests. Here, flower boxes and grass flowers are carefully arranged to create a passionate atmosphere; The "the Belt and Road" and "Dajinbao" located at the lower ramp of Jianhong Road, Jiamin Elevated Road welcome bloggers with a touch of bright red; The "Hua Zhu Hui Hai" at the intersection of Hongxu Road and Hongqiao Road, as well as the "Eye of Hongqiao" not far away, warmly welcomed guests from all walks of life. In addition, the Green Capacity Bureau also needs to ensure that 170 major roads in Shanghai are clean and tidy, 60 scenic areas are beautiful and pleasant, and the Huangpu River and Suzhou River are clear and rippling, showcasing the overall quality of Shanghai's urban environment.
It is worth mentioning that during the CIIE, Shanghai's landscape lighting will activate a "major event mode" and continue the popularity of the Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, linking with commercial districts to form a nighttime consumption boom. External stalls will also continue to exist, and the city's fireworks will not decrease.
The Shanghai police will introduce 5 items and 20 facilitation measures during the CIIE. Sun Xiaodong, Deputy Director of the Front Security Command of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau stationed at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, introduced that these measures include optimizing and upgrading the package of convenient entry and exit services, enhancing the service level of the "through train" for entry and exit police and enterprises, optimizing road traffic organization, improving the internal traffic convenience of the National Exhibition Center, and optimizing document registration and management.
The police have pioneered five new measures for this year's CIIE, including the first application of electronic port visas for foreign exhibitors, the first convenience measure for overseas visitors to apply for group tourist visas through online channels, the first opening of the "Blue Whale Enterprise Protection Workstation" entry service point, the first establishment of a police civilian police enterprise communication column, and the first realization of historical document reuse from the 5th to the 7th CIIE.
We will make every effort to shorten the certification time at each stage. For certification documents received before October 30th, we will shorten the certification time from 7 days to 5 days. For certification applications received after October 31st, we will shorten the certification time to within 48 hours. "Sun Xiaodong introduced that this year, the internal connectivity of" Four Leaf Clover "will also be more convenient." We have fully listened to the opinions and suggestions of exhibitors and merchants, and added security verification entrances at Gate 12 and 13 of Hall 4.1H and Hall 8.1H as entrances and exits for personnel during peak hours.
The police have also installed "one click alarm" devices at each special booth. In case of lost items, sudden illness, emergency assistance, etc., exhibitors can press the "one click alarm" button nearby, and the police will arrange forces to quickly rush to the alarm point for disposal as soon as possible.