Bei Zhaojian, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs and the head of the Shanghai Week delegation, spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that through the artistic performances and exhibitions, New Yorkers would have a chance to know about the real Shanghai and experience the charm of Chinese culture.

China's famous Kunqu Opera artist Zhang Jun, the Shanghai Folk Orchestra and students from many universities in Shanghai staged performances for the opening ceremony.

During the ceremony, inheritors of China's intangible cultural heritage from Shanghai demonstrated paper cutting, Chinese knot tying and other interesting Chinese traditional crafts.