SHANGHAI, Aug. 27 -- The cultural tourism market in east China's metropolis of Shanghai witnessed rapid growth in the first half of this year, surging in terms of traffic and revenue, data from local authorities shows.

In the first six months, Shanghai received more than 139 million domestic visitors, generating tourism revenue of more than 155 billion yuan (about 21.56 billion U.S. dollars). Both mark a year-on-year growth of over 100 percent, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

According to data from card payment giant China UnionPay, the tourism consumption in Shanghai during the first half of the year totaled 478.45 billion yuan, a 77 percent year-on-year increase.

In the same period, Shanghai hosted more than 22,000 commercial performances, drawing almost 12 million audiences and achieving box office revenue of 832 million yuan, a remarkable increase on the pre-COVID levels.