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in the refreshing season of golden autumn, the 2024 shanghai rolex masters is here as scheduled.

this is not only a feast of sports competition, but also a brilliant stage for cultural exchange and integration. since 2011, every year during the event, shanghai will serve as the host and carefully plan a series of linkage activities between cultural tourism and the event. the most famous one is undoubtedly the "master pujiang night" jointly organized by the shanghai municipal government information office and the event organizers. "activity. from the delicate paper-cutting art to the colorful jinshan farmers' paintings, from the lively dragon and lion dance performances to the fragrant nanxiang steamed buns, every activity is a vivid interpretation of the essence of traditional chinese culture. it provides participating masters with a unique experience of in-depth understanding of chinese culture, and also allows the world to more intuitively feel the cultural charm and openness of shanghai and even china through the international language of tennis, creating a vivid "urban background board" for shanghai.

in 2011, french player simon and spanish player robredo each wrote chinese calligraphy characters "shanghai master" with a brush;

in 2012, british player murray, serbian player tipsalevic, chinese player zhang ze, and zhuanqiao paper-cutting inheritor zhou ruomei jointly completed paper-cutting works;

in 2013, czech player berdych and swiss player wawrinka completed a peasant painting together with jinshan peasant painting artists;

in 2014, czech player berdych and american player isner participated in the shanghai intangible cultural heritage project "shanghai sanlin dragon and lion dance" performance;

in 2015, british player murray and chinese player zhang ze experienced making shanghai's famous snack "nanxiang xiaolongbao";

in 2016, grand slam winner wawrinka and czech player berdych operated shadow puppets together with zhu mojun, the successor of shanghai-style shadow puppetry;

in 2017, bulgarian player dimitrov and croatian player marin cilic interacted with youth tennis champions;

in 2018, german player zverev and croatian player marin cilic jointly produced the shanghai intangible cultural heritage project "shanghai lanterns" in xintiandi;

in 2019, spanish player agut and olympic table tennis champion wang liqin competed in table tennis skills at the oriental pearl tv tower;

in 2023, australian player de minaur and american player fritz interacted with young players in the world hall;

from 2011 to 2023, there were ten tournaments and ten "masters pujiang night". looking back now, it can be said that it is full of details and of great significance. before the start of this shanghai rolex masters, we specially interviewed li jing, the brand director of shanghai jiushi sports industry development (group) co., ltd. he participated in the planning and execution of all related activities and shared some original intentions and anecdotes of the year.

in 2009, the first year of the shanghai masters, all parties involved in the event believed that event publicity and city promotion are inseparable, and the shanghai masters with international influence should become an important platform to showcase the city's image and vitality. therefore, participating masters have participated in some special experiences after coming to shanghai, which actually started in 2009. just this year, jiushi sports planned the "fastest tennis" event, arranging players to play on the maglev train in shanghai. the speed of the car + the speed of tennis were combined to create an unparalleled scene + experience; in 2010, it coincided with shanghai hosting the world expo and the masters competition that year, we planned activities such as the "nine pavilions linkage" and the "masters tour of the world expo" to focus the world's attention. there was no such thing as "traffic" back then, but now, such activities are definitely "traffic-breaking."

how to select suitable interactive projects for the masters to experience, where to experience them, and how to display the scene images are all things that event organizers have to put a lot of effort into. li jing said that cultural tourism projects and intangible cultural heritage projects with local characteristics in shanghai can not only represent the image of shanghai, but also have good interactive effects. in fact, there is a database. under the guidance of the information office of the shanghai municipal government, all parties involved in the activities are organized every year. they all have to sit down and "touch it", coordinate players, interactive cultural projects, and institutions, and finally make the ideas and activities successfully implemented. what is commendable is that the inheritors of shanghai's intangible cultural heritage paid great attention to it after being invited, and prepared carefully, and the final works presented were also very valuable. for example, in 2012, british stars murray, tipsalevich, zhang ze and zhou ruomei, the inheritor of zhuanqiao paper-cutting, jointly completed the paper-cut work "shanghai masters scenery of the pujiang river", which is expressed as a scroll of the scenery on both sides of the pujiang river. the participating masters cut out the word "shang" in shanghai and a tennis ball figure, as a picture the particularly meaningful co-created works are currently preserved in the museum in minhang district.

looking back at these wonderful moments now, all the memory fragments have been condensed into imprints of time, engraved in the hearts of all participants. this deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction is indescribable and unforgettable. li jing said that each of the ten events left a deep impression on him, and there are some tidbits that are even more interesting now that he thinks about them. for example, in 2013, the original plan was: czech star berdych and swiss star wawrinka, with the heirs of jinshan peasant paintings worked together at the pier of the international passenger transport center, with the beautiful pujiang river as the background, to complete a peasant painting. all aspects were prepared, but on the day of the event, the strong typhoon "fit" came, the water level soared, and the entire pier was flooded. the originally prepared staff became "flood fighting and rescue" volunteers. "i still remember that the name of the typhoon was 'feite'. we all said that this time it was 'waste' (colloquial shanghainese, meaning: all preparations and efforts were in vain). later, at the municipal government information office after coordination, the event was moved to a translucent tent in a cafe next to the pier, but everyone was unwilling to do so, so in 2014, the interactive activity selected that year was the intangible cultural heritage project "shanghai sanlin dragon and lion dance" performance. we still chose the guoguo center. the weather was very good that day, the event was very effective, and everyone was very happy. ”

in addition, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the masters. the event that year was also particularly impressive. it was also the only event so far that was not held by the huangpu river. the location chosen that year was the ccp no. 1 xingye road next to the conference site. li jing recalled that the leader of the information office at that time proposed whether the event could be held on xingye road next to the national congress site. on the one hand, there are the most complete preserved shikumen and shanghai-style buildings in shanghai. on the other hand, in the promoting the event next to a red landmark like the conference site is of more historical significance to the masters, which coincides with its tenth anniversary. later, with the coordination and promotion of all parties, including the management of the no. 1 conference site, huangpu district, public security and other parties, everyone was very involved and cooperative. so we saw international tennis masters playing tennis on xingye road and experienced it together. the grand occasion of producing the shanghai intangible cultural heritage project "shanghai style lanterns". the acceptance by all parties was extremely high. the players also visited the shanghai xintiandi shikumen house museum and experienced the home furnishings and living atmosphere of shanghai’s traditional lanes. they had a completely new outlook on shanghai and china.

these international tennis superstars have their own traffic, and with domestic and foreign news media reporting on the event, this has become the best way for shanghai to do international communication. in addition, these unique activities that integrate culture and tourism not only allow tennis masters from afar to relax before the competition, but also virtually build bridges of recognition and recognition, allowing them to experience the profound chinese culture. heritage and unique charm. at the same time, these activities also demonstrate to the world the cultural inclusiveness and innovation of shanghai as an international metropolis, allowing people from different cultural backgrounds to find resonance here and enhance understanding and respect. from the perspective of promoting shanghai's city image, celebrities and events seem to have become the most vivid "city backdrop." with the global influence of tennis stars and the masters, our city's image has come to the forefront.

since last year, the concept of "night view" has also begun to be "upgraded" - from "master pujiang night" to "master pujiang tour". it is no longer limited to nighttime. shanghai is equally graceful, beautiful and charming during the day. it is reported that this year’s event has been planned and prepared and will be presented to all citizens and fans during the national day.

[acknowledgments: the information pictures for this edition were provided by special reporter chen di. the author is a national first-class photographer (senior technician), president of the sports photography branch of the shanghai art photography association, and the official photographer of shanghai jiushi sports event operation management co., ltd. image supervisor]