Sixty-one tourist attractions around Shanghai are slashing their ticket prices in half as part of the annual Shanghai Tourism Festival, which opened over the weekend. The opening ceremony included a parade of floats through Huangpu District.

The opening ceremony started at 7:30 on Saturday night, with dance groups and singers performing the theme song of this year's tourism festival.

The opening ceremony started at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with dance groups and singers performing the theme song of this year’s tourism festival.

Half an hour later, the parade began with a float from Shanghai Disney Resort leading the way complete with its famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Elsa waving to the spectators along the road. Floats representing Tianjin, Nantong, Taipei and many other cities followed.

This year’s parade is the largest in the festival’s history with 25 floats working their way along Middle Huaihai Road to South Shanxi Road. Twenty-four overseas performance groups are taking part in the parade and they are expected to put on a good show for the crowds lined up to watch.

Organizers say the parade has attracted 450,000 spectators, and they will be able to vote on their favorite floats, as all the floats will go on display in every district of the city through the end of this month.