This photo taken by a mobile phone shows international tourists posing for photos at Yuyuan Garden in east China's Shanghai, April 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Aiping)

Trip.com, a prominent online travel agency, has launched the "Shanghai Express," a free layover sightseeing tour provided for international transit passengers arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

According to the agency, transportation, guides, and internet services are free of charge during the tour, which lasts for 5-6 hours. Travelers will have the opportunity to visit the Bund, Yu Garden, and other famous attractions in Shanghai, as well as experience the city's history, culture, and cuisine.

Since its launch on April 15, numerous international tourists have participated in the half-day tour, with approximately 80 percent being European and the remaining 20 percent from Southeast Asia.

After a tour on Sunday, Artemii and Anna Nekrasov, a Russian couple, were impressed and told Xinhua that they are "thinking of making a special trip to China in the future."

Zhang Chengjie, overseas marketing director of Trip.com, said such tours will help more international tourists learn about Shanghai and even "plant a seed" in their minds for future travel to the eastern Chinese city.

Official data showed that in the first quarter of this year, Shanghai received more than 1.27 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of around 249.7 percent. 

This photo taken by a mobile phone shows a staff member introducing tour itineraries for international tourists before the half-day tour at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, April 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Aiping