SHANGHAI is going gray. By 2030, the city will have 5 to 6 million senior citizens aged over 60, almost 30 percent of the total population.

Statistics from the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau show that the elderly (over 60) population will rise by 140,000 every year from 2010 to 2020, compared with an average increase of 75,000 per year during the past five years.

By 2030, Shanghai will have become the "oldest" city in China with one elderly person among every three people.

As these figures loom ever larger, the big question is how will the city care for and house its aging population.

Nursing homes and retirement villages are possible, but many older people don't like to move and many young professionals prefer to rent low-cost suburban flats and hire an ayi to care for their parents.

There are also concerns about hired private caretakers who could abuse their position and trust of elders, or cannot provide real professional support.

Shanghai is ripe for high-end retirement communities, developers hope.

The city has plenty of nursing homes and retirement facilities, but few at the high end.

opened in May 2008, Cherish-Yearn Community is promoted as China's first high-end retirement community. It started as a membership community but now it is selling flats - to the elderly only.

"Though this kind of community for the elderly is quite common in America and Europe, in China it is still new," says Jin Chizhe, the company's sales and marketing manager.

The 8.3-square-kilometer community in suburban Kangqiao area of Nanhui contains 16 buildings. Twelve of them provide 800 apartments. There's also a wellness center, hospital, dining hall, recreational areas, tea houses, green space and streams. It offers short-term accommodation for residents' families.

It provides activities from painting to piano, chorus, theater and martial arts.

Today it has around 200 residents.

The 560-million-yuan (US$82 million) project charges each resident a one-time membership fee of 350,000-790,000 yuan. After November 20, the highest fee rises to 850,000 yuan.

The average is 500,000 yuan.

In addition, there's an annual fee of 20,000-60,000 yuan for life-long services.

Apartments are divided into small (60sqm), medium (80sqm) and large (120sqm).

The design in the buildings and flats is elderly-oriented to account for physical limitations. Public spaces have railings; the elevators can accommodate wheelchairs and stretchers; floors are anti-slip; bathrooms have handles for support.

Buildings are connected with covered corridors.

Each building is a different color, making them more easily identified by people with Alzheimer's disease, stroke-related memory problems and general senility.

Furnished flats are equipped with television, microwave oven, refrigerator and washing machine. Kitchens are fully equipped.

Bathrooms have hand grips and an emergency call button near the toilet seat and in the shower.

"When you become a Cherish-Yearn resident, your home for life also includes care for life," Jin says. "Our life-care program allows residents to move in independently and enjoy a resort lifestyle, while being assured that should their health needs ever change, they are guaranteed care to meet their highest level of independence."

The community has a medical center and a full-time staff of physicians, who get to know each resident personally as their own "family doctor." Its pharmacy will deliver prescriptions to the residents' front doors.

Assisted-living provides medical and other services in the privacy of one's own apartment. Residents can get just a little help as needed.

"All the members of the medical team are professional doctors and nurses," says manager Jin.

The community has its own general hospital with the therapists from Shanghai Shuguang Hospital. A "green channel" is set up between the two hospitals in case of emergency.

Residents can move to the nursing home as needed for short-term stay after surgery or illness.

A hospice provides medical, social and spiritual support through palliative end-of-life care. Private rooms and integrated family involvement help smooth the end-of-life transition.

"Our concept is totally new in the Chinese market," Jin says. "Our management system and services are first rate."

Each resident has an IC card, which is used as a key, an ID card to enter the community and a swiping card to buy food and drinks in the cafes and dining halls.

It is equipped with a Global Positioning System and in an emergency the senior can press the red button on the card to summon medical help or security services. Jin says they are guaranteed to arrive within two minutes.

There's 24-hour butler service that provides anything from flat cleaning and maintenance to grocery purchasing and drug delivery. Each residence has three butlers and more will be added as the population increases.

The community admits only women over 55 and men over 60 - or anyone with a retirement certificate.

Most residents today are couples.

When Cherish-Yearn opened in May 2008, the cost was a problem and people questioned the value of a "five-star, luxury retirement home," says Jin.

"It's not worth paying such a high price," says 52-year-old Shi Zhengming, a civil servant working in the tax bureau. He retires in eight years. "I can lead an extravagant retirement life by myself with that sum of money."

Wang Peifang, a 55-year-old factory worker, says she could never afford it and if she could, she wouldn't.

"I have many friends and we chat, dance and play mahjong every week," she says. "If I move to that suburban retirement community, my circle cannot move there with me and I would lose contact with them till the day I die."

Han Meihua, who has a 66-year-old mother, is also concerned for different reasons.

"What upsets me is not the money or my mother's social circle, but the fact that she would live only with old people, which I don't think is healthy, even if services are high quality," Han says.

She wants her mother to integrate with society and meet people of different age groups, "especially young people, who are energetic and vigorous. To stay young at heart is the most important thing for the elderly," Han says.

Today the occupancy rate of the opened buildings is almost 50 percent. The average age of residents is 73 and most are very well-educated, many being former university professors, doctors and teachers.

On Monday, 108-year-old Zhou Sanmei moved in.

Zheng Yin, 72, moved in five months ago and she's satisfied with her busy life. She takes piano lessons, surfs the Internet, studies Chinese painting, among many activities.

"The air is fresh and the environment is quiet and secure. I am happy and I have made new friends," she says.

Zheng used to be a clerk in the railway administration in Zhabei District. Her husband died several years ago.

"It took me a long time to get over it, but I thought my life should continue," she says.

After negotiations with her children, Zheng sold her downtown house for 800,000 yuan and moved into Cherish-Yearn. "My children were supportive," she says.

Wang Lifen is a new member. "My generation had worked so hard, why not spoil ourselves in our final years?" asks the 65-year-old. "It's not boring here at all."

Wang cites a "university," a library, chorus, folk opera troupes, hobby groups, fitness center, areas for gate ball, fan dancing, tai chi and many other exercises.

"We have birthday parties every month. The neighbors and staff are so nice here," she says.

Last month, Cherish-Yearn decided to sell its flats. It was originally opened as a membership community and residents had right of use or habitation, but not ownership.

"We're not a real estate company and what we want to do is to provide high-end services for the elderly. But our clients kept asking if we had plans to sell flats, and we thought it's not a bad idea," manager Jin says.

"This might be a typically Chinese characteristic. They pay money and want to get something physically, or tangible possession. Good service isn't something they can hold, but a flat is," he says.

Sales contracts stipulate that owners must be the elderly themselves; they must obey membership rules and pay annual service fees.

Since flats went on sale, 51 have been sold in the first batch of 63.

"I am thinking of purchasing a flat," says 74-year-old Yang Huikang, who works at the community information desk.

He has two flats in Kangqiao area and he and his wife plan to sell one and move to Cherish-Yearn. "At least we can get better service here."

The price is around 15,000 yuan per square meter.

Cherish-Yearn plans to build 10 similar communities around China in the next five years, creating a nationwide chain business.

Next year it plans to start construction of communities in Yellow Mountain (Anhui Province), Haikou City (Hainan Province) and Yingkou City (Liaoning Province).

City has senior priority
Created: 2009-11-2
Author:Wing Tan

SHANGHAI so far has 534,400 residents over 80 years old, representing almost 18 percent of the population over 60 years old, according to the city's Population and Family Planning Commission.

Last year Shanghai's average life expectancy reached 81.28 years.

Elderly couples with only one child (under the family planning policy launched in the late 1970s) will become the largest segment of the aging.

The city has around 3.05 million one-child families and there are more than 6.01 million parents.

It is estimated that by 2013 more than 80 percent of those turning 60 will have only one child. After 2018, the city will have 230,000 to 240,000 elderly with one kid joining the aging group every year.

By 2030, the city will have 5 to 6 million people over 60, almost 30 percent of the total population.

The rate of aging downtown is higher than that in suburban districts, and caring and housing for this group has become an important part of the city agenda.

Renovating old apartments and building more retirement communities are an urgent task, according to Wang Ying, director of the Shanghai Tongji University's Urban Planning and Design Institute.

"Renovating old communities is more feasible," Wang says, citing research showing that improved kitchen and bathroom facilities are the improvements most welcomed by the elderly.

A first-year college drop-out in Hangzhou is listed as China's richest young entrepreneur in a controversial list of 100 wealthiest baby moguls. Tan Weiyun reports.
China's list of the 100 richest young entrepreneurs (all men) features five from Zhejiang Province and nine from Shanghai - the two "richest" spots in China.
At the top of the list is 25-year-old Hangzhou native Jin Jin, a drop-out after one year at Zhejiang Science and Technology University. He is the founder of ferrygame.com, an online games provider, which has reported assets of almost 1 billion yuan (US$147 million).
The much-publicized list is quite unofficial and some question its accuracy - and its value in creating buzz about people who drop out of college.
It was recently issued by cuaa.net, a Website for students, and the 21st Century Talents News, which conducted 10 years of research (1999-2009) into young entrepreneurs.
They studied college students, fresh graduates and university drop-outs who established their own business.
Sixty-four on the list hold bachelor's degrees, 10 are still studying in university, 14 hold master's or doctoral degrees. Twelve attended vocational school.
The list shows that almost 40 percent of the rich young men are engaged in the information and technology industry. About 20 percent are in financial services; almost 10 percent are in the agricultural industries.
Most of the millionaires and even billionaires - 79 - were born in the 1980s.
One was born after 1990, Ding Shiyuan, the youngest on the list. He established Ding Ding Cultures and Communications early this year, and now the enterprise is worth 3 million yuan, in 60th place.
The list represents total wealth of 2.6 billion yuan, with the highest, Jin, at 1 billion yuan. Seven men are worth more than 100 million yuan, six between 50 million and 100 million yuan.
No. 1 Jin founded ferrygame.com in 2005 when he was a sophomore. It's now the largest online games provider in Zhejiang Province and has 11 branches across China. Headquarters have been shifted to Shanghai.
"He doesn't look like a boss at all," says Zheng Jun, Jin's secretary, who was quoted earlier by Hangzhou media. "He is very kind with a chubby face and he's very cute when he smiles."
Jin keeps a low profile, refuses media interviews and has changed his mobile phone number several times to avoid the press.
His secretary says Jin prefers T-shirts and sneakers and seldom wear suits.
"He tells jokes aloud, which often brings bursts of laughter in the office," she says.
The Hangzhou branch is in the Zhejiang Hi-Tech Park. Every day, Jin usually eats lunch at the park's canteen with his colleagues.
"He's not strict and is okay with people coming in late in the morning," says Zheng. "The atmosphere is easy and relaxing."
His high school teacher recalls Jin as being "very quiet and ordinary."
"He was quite a forgettable student with just a so-so academic performance and he didn't like to talk. I can remember other students very clearly, but not him," the teacher was quoted in media reports as saying.
Jin's college classmate Qi Lin says he was shocked to hear Jin has become a billionaire.
"It's incredible. He was very shy and low-profile," Qi recalls. "He liked to sit in the back of the class. We always played basketball together and he was polite and generous."
When everybody else was having fun in college, Jin had started to do some small businesses such as selling IP cards and online games cards.
After finishing his first year of study, Jin decided to drop out.
"I guess most of his time was spent preparing to start his own business," Qi says.
The list created immediate buzz - doubts, criticism and praise.
"I don't see any need to make this list," says Gu Mingjun, a student at Shanghai International Studies University. "It would motivate young people without enough energy and financial support to blindly follow these successful models and ignore their studies."
The credibility of the list has also been questioned.
"Where did the research team get these statistics? How did they assess their property? What's their criteria for being 'wealthy'?" a Netizen named Lemon Tea asked on the Website.
But some people cheered the list.
"This kind of list can encourage young students to think early and prepare their future in advance," says Xin Yang from Shanghai Tongji University. "Though the statistics might not be that credible, it still tells us these young entrepreneurs are successful and ahead of most of their peers."

DO as imperial courtiers did: savor life along what is now Zhongshan Road. The renovated area is the city's newest tourism highlight, the best of old and new. Tan Weiyun takes a stroll. Zhongshan Road - the 900-year-old royal street - reopens tomorrow, showcasing Hangzhou's newest tourist attraction with parades, folk art, opera, martial arts, tea culture, historic sites, wining and dining.

Renovation of the major north-south road and nearby area highlights its history as "Royal Street of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)" when the widest street was used to provide convenient transport of the emperor and the royal family.

The road retains many old buildings, stores, factories, residences and small lanes featuring the architecture of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and Western neoclassical tastes.

Visitors can see time-honored shops, the Industrial Bank from the Republic of China (1911-1949), a Catholic church and religious shrines. It features what is said to be the first well dug in Zhejiang Province in what was the Wuyue Kingdom (AD 907-978) by the premier and a monk named De Shao.

Renowned old stores include Zhang Tongtai Pharmacyfrom the Qing Dynasty, and Fanghuichun Hall, a hospital of traditional Chinese medicine.

The renovation project spans 4.3 kilometers, covers 87 hectares and contains 13 historical and cultural relics. Work began early last year.

It is the largest urban planning in the city's center. Since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907-979), the 4,185-meter Zhongshan Road has always been Hangzhou's financial, political and cultural hub.

It was the principal axis of Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty and a retreat for royalty. During that time, Hangzhou became a gravitational center of Chinese civilization.

The project divides the street into four sections, providing different styles, where tourists can stay in a village inn, eat authentic Hangzhou snacks, drink Longjing tea in a century-old restaurant and purchase traditional goods or crafts in many shops.

The first section, Zhongshan Road S., from the intersection of Wansongling Road to the Drum Tower, will display the folk culture of ancient Hangzhou with shops, teahouses and restaurants.

A culture pavilion with a traditional stage will offer regular performances of Yueju Opera, Hangju Opera and Muju Opera.

The second section, the south part of Zhongshan Road M. from the Drum Tower to Xihu Avenue, is a pedestrian way flanked by souvenir stores, inns and bistros with a traditional flavor. Small lanes in this section abound in intriguing culture with international features and leisure elements, such as boutiques set up by foreigners, an English cafe, a Thai metalcrafts, a Cuban cigar shop, a Nepalese artwork store and a Japanese sashimi restaurant.

The third section, the middle part of Zhongshan Road from Xihu Venue to Jiefang Road, displays the high quality of life in Hangzhou. It features the Southern Song Court Hotel, SPA Commercial Hotel and stores selling wine, cosmetics and jewelry.

The fourth section, the north part of the royal street from Jiefang Road to Qingchun Road, offers electronic toys, outdoor products, comics and animation as well as maternity and baby products, to attract fashionable young people.

Along the street running north to south are 13 ponds, linked by underground streams. They are decorated with small pavilions, artistic rockeries, mini potted green landscapes and tiny waterfalls. More than 14,000 pots of aquatic plants, totaling 18 species such as lotus, are placed in the ponds.

(To be continued tomorrow) Festivities during the National Day holiday

Opening ceremony of the "Royal Street of the Southern Song Dynasty"

Date: Tomorrow, 10:18am-noon

Venue: Drum Tower section

Two hours of parades and displays of folk culture and arts, such as making dough figurines and walking on stilts. The displays are typical of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).



Some activities

Date: Tomorrow, 7pm-9pm

Venue: Drum Tower Square

Song and dance gala and qipao fashion show to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.



Date: September 30-October 2, 6:30pm-8pm

Venue: Drum Tower Square

Lantern riddle games, revealing many interesting stories of the Song Dynasty. After 9pm it's time to party until the wee small hours.



Date: October 2, 9am-11am

Venue: Taimiao Square

Tai chi and sword play by more than 200 participants.



Date: October 1-7, 3pm-4pm

Venue: Drum Tower Square to Xihu Avenue

Wrestling and acrobatics shows.



Date: October 1-7, 7:15pm?8:45pm

Venue: Drum Tower Square

Performances of Song Dynasty dancing, folk operas, acrobatics and chorus that everybody is welcome to join.

DESIGNER Wu Yoken scribbled and scrawled on the back of his receipt in a coffee shop until settling on the initial sketch for the Expo mascot Haibao, Tan Weiyun reports.

There's no escaping now that blue, vaguely dental-looking creature that is springing up everywhere in Shanghai. The figure and image of "Haibao," the 2010 World Expo mascot, is now rapidly taking over the city.

Its smile can be found in Metro stations, on the walls of buildings, along the elevated roads and on key rings and school bags as a fashion ornament of young students.

But few people know the unusual origins of the cute little creature that is becoming the signature icon for the 2010 Expo.

"It was actually born in a coffee shop," said 41-year-old Wu Yoken, the mascot's designer from Taiwan, showing a coffee receipt where a hasty, scratchy sketch of an embryonic idea for Haibao sprawls across the paper.

The "coffee - 18 yuan" is on the front, while a sketch of the small figure is on the back. The original image that Wu created was the Chinese character "￡§?," pronounced da which means big, massive or great, instead of today's final version of ""?§", or "people" in Chinese.

Now the "historic" receipt is carefully mounted in a photo frame and is placed in the designer's Shanghai office.

The idea was inspired by the aroma of coffee. On a morning in 2007, Wu was sitting in the coffee shop he visited everyday. While waiting idly for his order, the designer scrawled aimlessly on the receipt.

With a few quick, absent-minded scribbles, a colorful figure shaped like "￡§?" appeared. It had a smiling face with little eyes.

Its hands were extending widely, as if welcoming guests while its hair was inspired by a breeze. He named it "Dabao."

"Shanghai is a big city where the East meets and combines perfectly with the West," Wu said. "It is the attitude of greatness and generosity that exactly fits the meaning of the Chinese character da."

During the month after he returned from the coffee shop with the receipt, Wu and his team revised "Dabao" several times, and then sent it to the Shanghai World Expo's mascot committee.

Two months later, the designer suddenly got a phone call from the committee, telling him that his work had been short-listed. It stood out from the other 26,655 entries in the international selection competition.

Another two months later, Wu was organized to meet the Shanghai-native designer Shao Longtu, who revised Dabao for three months into today's Haibao.

There had been a lot of public conjecture about "who is the real father of Haibao" and it stirred up a lot of media coverage at the time. But Wu is not concerned.

"There is no problem about the intellectual property rights. Everything is clarified," the Taiwanese said. Wu is the designer of Haibao, while Shao is the reviser, according to the Shanghai World Expo's committee.

Wu didn't take part in the revisions. "It was a great pity that I was not part of it," he admitted.

"But I respect the decision of the committee. It seems that Haibao looks smarter and cuter than the original Dabao."

Haibao, revised into the shape of the Chinese character "?§ (pronounced ren, meaning people), stands for "the treasure of the seas," as Shanghai is a city close to the ocean.

Ren with two strokes symbolizes support and teamwork. Haibao's hair was inspired by an ocean wave, while the expression on his face is confident and friendly, welcoming visitors to the Expo.

The mascot Haibao gave the Taiwanese designer a great boost to his career in Shanghai. He soon earned fame on the Chinese mainland and has become extremely busy.

However, he was a successful designer in Taiwan before his Expo creation emerged and his talent was recognized at an early age as his achievements show.

He was the winner of the Global Poster Competition at age 18; he was the youngest designer invited to attend the International Illustrators Exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum; he is a consultant of the Taiwan Graphic Design Association, Taiwan Art Design Association and Taiwan Poster Design Association.

Wu first came to Shanghai in 2003, because he "had no other alternative." "Before that, I was transferred to Guangdong Province by the design company I was then working for. That was a small place with no cafe, bookstore or decent restaurant," he recalled.

After four months, the office was relocated to Shanghai and Wu followed to a city where a new page of his career and life unfolded and he settled down.

In 2003, Wu quit his job and set up a design company with a friend in Shanghai. The business grew so strongly that it rapidly expanded to many big cities. But a conflict between the partners forced Wu to leave the company in 2006.

"It was quite a big setback for me because my life was always smooth and successful before that," he said.

But Wu didn't give up. In 2007 he founded another design company and rented a more than 100-square-meter flat in the Hongqiao area as his work studio.

Then came Expo's mascot selection competition and the fame that drove his career to such a high note.

Wu has since designed the Sky Frog mascot of the 21st Summer Deaflympics Taipei 2009, the "Teeth Baby" for Shanghai Jing'an Dental Clinic, the logo for Brown Coffee and many others.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin even invited him to help plan the Taipei Hall at Shanghai World Expo.

Wu has recently completed after three years' work his Shanghai Impression series of 26 oil paintings that depict various slices of life in Shanghai.

They show typical scenes in the city including the busy Lujiazui Financial Zone in Pudong New Area, the famous pedestrian walkway Nanjing Road, the unique housing known as shikumen, featuring strong Shanghai-flavor architecture, and even the first bowl of rice Wu had in Shanghai.

An auction of the works will take place tomorrow with some of the funds being donated to victims of Typhoon Morakot, which slammed into Taiwan in August and claimed hundreds of lives.

In addition, the Taiwanese are planning to bring orphans from Wu's birthplace to next year's Expo using the funds from the charity sale of the oil paintings.

"I hope they can take home in their dreams an idea of what future cities should look like, and create better lives when they grow up," he said.

ONE of China's most beautiful and serene lakes, Dongqian Lake in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, is four times as large as the West Lake in neighboring Hangzhou but blessedly less famous -- and less crowded with tourists.

Dongqian Lake "combines the verve of Taihu Lake and the charm of West Lake," a perfect hybrid of masculinity and femininity, according to Guo Muoruo (1892-1978), a renowned scholar and poet of contemporary China.

We took a long causeway that divides the lake, which is rimmed by willows and greenery -- not spoiled by hotels and development. Around the lake are lush meadows, with rugged hills in the distance.

It seems like an emerald.

We crossed several stone arches before parking in the center of the causeway, which divides the lake and offers a spectacular view.

Beyond a thick curtain of willow, we spotted ospreys or fish hawks gliding over the glistening water and diving for fish -- they are tethered on a fishing line -- then returning to a fishing boat where a fisherman takes their catch.

Nearby in the center of the lake is Xiayu (Rosy Clouds and Islands) Temple, where Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, is venerated. A huge stone statue of the deity rises from the water, seated on her lotus throne and wearing a benign smile.

The temple on the other side of the island consists of newly renovated Buddhist halls.

The main attraction, however, is a towering stone boat and a deep underground cave.

The boat is built on a three-story-high altar, reached by a marble staircase on which dragons are embossed. The boat is itself three stories high and carries a single passenger on the deck, a monk staring ahead, his hands folded in namaste. The inscription on the sale reads: "Ci Hang Pu Du" ("A Mercy Ferry for All the Living to Land of the Pure").

The cave itself is not remarkable, but the legend is touching. It is said that a filial son once escorted his blind mother, who was a pious Buddhist, to this cave for a pilgrimage to Goddess Guanyin -- instead of going to Putuo Mountain -- to keep his mother from a risky sea voyage.

Guanyin noted his devotion and appeared to the man and his mother to reward piety. Thus the cave is called Putuo Dong Tian (Guanyin's Sanctum).

There are tens of thousands of Buddhist temples around China, but it's rare to find one like Xiayu with its main entrance facing open water. Adding to the charm, dragon boats occasionally ply the waters.

We were lucky to see a dragon boat race with cheering rowers.

The scenery of Dongqian Lake is legendary, recorded 2,000 years ago.

It is said that Xi Shi, one of the four beauties of ancient China, was taken there by her husband Fan Li, the most famous plutocrat of that age, for a romantic retreat after his long service in the Yue Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

If you want to avoid the crush of tourists in many spots over the coming golden week, a two-day excursion to Ningbo might be the ticket.

The itinerary might include the ancient Tianyi Pavilion on the first day's afternoon, the Bund and Tianyi Square in the evening and Dongqian Lake the next morning.

No rush, it's a relaxing trip.

How to get there and where to stay

One smart option is the Sheraton Ningbo Hotel, which provides two free daily runs of inter-city coach service between Shanghai and Ningbo for registered guests. It takes three hours.

Book one room and get two reserved coach seats. Rate for National Day holiday is 758 yuan (US$112) per night for a "superior" room, with complimentary breakfast for two, free Internet, free use of gym, pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and tennis court.

The regular round-trip coach transport between Shanghai and Ningbo is 220 yuan per person. Tips Call 6248-7709, 6248-7761, 6248-7296 in Shanghai or (0574) 8768-8688, ext 22 in Ningbo to book rooms. Remember to request a coach, as only booking a room doesn't guarantee a seat.

AH, viewing the moon over the West Lake - what a way to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on October 3 this year.

With the National Day holiday golden week and the Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, Hangzhou is ready to showcase its beautiful scenery and cultural heritage.

There's still room at the inn - though many hotels will raise their rates for the holiday from October 1 to 8. Others will maintain their rates, and there are even good deals.

According to Ctrip.com, a major travel service provider specializing in discounts, high-end business hotels and economy lodging near the West Lake will raise their rates by around 30 percent during the holiday.

At the Hyatt Regency Hangzhou, the rate for a standard room will go up to 1,600 yuan (US$235) a night, an increase of 100-200 yuan over September.

The Huachen International Hotel will raise the single-room rate to 680 yuan, up by more than 100 yuan, while the Hanghzou Elan Inn Hotel lifts the price by 60 yuan to 120 yuan.

The rates of the Landison Plaza Hotel Hangzhou and Landison Longjing Resort Hangzhou also will rise by 10 to 20 percent.

The Hangzhou-headquartered Landison Hotel Group operates six hotels in Zhejiang Province, including three in Hangzhou. The Landison Plaza Hotel is in the city center's Wulin area, the Longjing Resort is near the West Lake, and the third is in the suburban Yuhang area.

"The three have formed a complete tourism route around the city," says Zhou Dawei, the group's public relations manager. "We will provide special rates for guests who book rooms in more than one of our hotels."

Some medium-size travel agencies, such as Elong.com, have booked blocs of hotel rooms for the holiday and will rent them to their registered members.

However, some newly opened hotels not near the West Lake will keep their rates unchanged, including the Crowne Plaza Hangzhou Grand Canal that opened this January and the Oakwood Residence Hangzhou that opened late last year.

"We're new in the city's accommodation industry. The most important thing for us is to keep fair and reasonable hotel rates," says Li Jing, sales director of the Crowne Plaza. Booking for the holiday is very good, especially from October 2 to 5, he says.

The Mid-Autumn Festival on October 3 is giving a boost to booking.

"Viewing the full moon is a great attraction for foreigners, who are the main hotel occupants during the golden week," says Cai Yaqun, deputy manager of the Hangzhou Ramada Hotel.

In order to attract as many tourists as possible, some hotels in scenic spots are launching promotions and traditional culture activities.

"We have prepared games for our guests such as riddle-solving, lantern shows, classical Chinese music concerts, full-moon appreciation and many other activities," says Wu Jianguo, deputy manager of the Hangzhou Hill & River Hotel.

The hotel has launched a new conference model called "Business Meeting in Swimsuits." Participants are required to wear swimsuits in conference functions held near the swimming pool.

"Our restaurant is connected with the swimming pool. That's how we came up with this idea," Wu says. "Business goes smoothly by the swimming pool instead of in the office. And it's getting popular among our corporate clients."

The Landison Longjing Resort Hangzhou has also taken the plunge.

"Hotels in the busy city center don't have the right setting for these kinds of parties, but scenic resort hotels are the ideal venue," says Zhao Jie, the hotel manager.

The charge for one person is 388 yuan, including use of the swimming pool, buffet and decoration.

In the first quarter of the year, Hangzhou received more than 11.23 million domestic tourist visits, a jump of 8.4 percent year-on-year, while the number of overseas tourists reached 444,000, up 0.1 percent.

Total tourism revenue reached almost 16 billion yuan, up 12 percent, according to the Hangzhou Statistics Bureau.

The May Day holiday was highly successful for the Hangzhou tourism market, which took in 1.5 billion yuan. About 2 million tourists visited Hangzhou in the three days, an increase of more than 25 percent from a year earlier.

During the upcoming holiday, new scenic spots will be opened.

They include the old Zhongshan Road dating back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1276), the newly renovated section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Xixi Wetlands.