The Christmas and New Year shopping carnival in Shenzhen is expected to be a shopping paradise alongside neighboring Hong Kong.

High-quality, well-designed and low-price clothes, jewelry, timepieces and electronic products are Shenzhen's strength while the world-recognized shopping paradise of Hong Kong wins by its zero duty for imported items, Vice Mayor Wang Suiming said Wednesday (Dec. 10).

To attract shoppers and visitors, a series of colorful events have been scheduled in addition to a regular lucky draw and tempting discounts. The tourism bureau expects the carnival to attract 1 million tourists from other parts of China and overseas, with an expected gross income of 2 billion yuan (US$240 million) for Shenzhen, calculated on an average expenditure of 2,000 yuan.

A similar shopping festival launched in June to rejuvenate consumption in the post-SARS era achieved a turnover of 1.4 billion yuan, according to the Shenzhen Retail Business Association.

The 10-day carnival will start Dec. 24 and end Jan. 3. Detailed plans are still being developed.

Editor: Catherine