The 17th Shanghai International Popular Sports Festival opened at Dishui Lake in Lin-gang Special Area on Saturday, drawing over 100 international guests and overseas students from more than 10 countries, including Australia, Cuba, and Uzbekistan, to foster cross-border exchanges via sports.

Guided by the Shanghai Sports Bureau and hosted by the Shanghai Sports Federation, the festival set two venues: Dishui Lake Square as the main venue and Shanghai L+SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort as the branch venue. It boasts four interdisciplinary event categories – ice sports, running, group fitness, and esports – to suit all age groups.

On Saturday, highlights included Shanghai's first official Valorant mobile esports tournament co-hosted with Tencent Games, and a group fitness session blended with pop electronic music. A 10km lake run, a 5km walk, and the Shanghai Youth Alpine Skiing Championships kicked off on Sunday.