{"id":65,"date":"2026-03-02T18:28:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/?page_id=65"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T21:06:38","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our History<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Founded in 1954, we bring seven decades of expertise to modern travel. We blend time-honored heritage with contemporary professionalism to deliver exceptional travel services.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1954 to 1966\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>

Foundation and Early Development<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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On July 27, 1954, the Shanghai municipal government approved the establishment of the Shanghai branch of the China International Travel Service. It officially opened on August 2 of the same year. It was therefore among the first travel agencies established after the founding of the People\u2019s Republic of China. In its early stage, its primary task was to receive and assist foreign guests who had been invited by government authorities.<\/p>\n

With improvements in the economic situation and the development of foreign relations, the composition of visitors\u2019 countries of origin changed significantly by the mid 1960s. Guests from Japan, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany now accounted for around 86 percent. In 1965, Shanghai CITS hosted about 5,800 visitors, while the number of employees rose to more than one hundred.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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1973: First international cruise ship handled by Shanghai CITS: the Japanese friendship vessel \u201cOcean University\u201d<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1966 to 1976\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>

Setbacks and Resilience<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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During this historical period, Shanghai CITS was also affected by the political and social changes of the time. In 1969, the number of guests served fell to 483, representing only about 8 percent of the 1965 level. However, with the rapprochement between China and the United States and the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, a gradual recovery of international tourism began to emerge. The United States quickly became the second largest country of origin after Japan.<\/p>\n

Throughout this period, Shanghai CITS continued its work in international travel services and remained an important point of contact for foreign visitors to China.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSince the Late 1970s\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>

Renewal and Growth<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, Shanghai CITS entered a period of dynamic growth. By 1979, the company already employed more than 600 staff members, including foreign language tour guides covering a total of 22 languages. In 1980, the organization was transformed from a public institution into an enterprise. In 1987, Shanghai CITS became one of the first companies in the industry to introduce a general manager responsibility system as well as a contract based operational management system, gradually developing into an enterprise operating independently in the market.<\/p>\n

The number of guests served also increased significantly. It rose from around 18,000 in 1976 to about 275,000 in 1987. At the same time, Shanghai CITS began to build its own international sales activities and evolved from a purely reception focused organization into a company that both serves international visitors and actively develops new markets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1989: Zhu Rongji, then Mayor of Shanghai, right, welcomes Japanese friend Okazaki Kaheita, hosted by Shanghai CITS<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In 1992, Shanghai China International Travel Service was officially renamed Shanghai CITS and classified as a Category I travel agency. Two years later, in 1994, Jiang Zemin formulated the guiding principle \u201cDevelop tourism, promote friendship, serve society, and invigorate the economy.\u201d In the same year, the company was listed on the stock exchange, making it one of the early publicly listed companies in China\u2019s tourism industry. In 2003, the Jin Jiang International Group became the majority shareholder. With Jin Jiang International Group as its majority shareholder, Shanghai CITS became part of a strong tourism group, creating additional development opportunities for the brand. In June 2004, as part of a restructuring of the listed company, Shanghai CITS International Travel Service Co., Ltd. was established. It continued the CITS brand and focused on inbound and outbound tourism.<\/p>

In the 21st century, Shanghai CITS has consistently ranked among the leading travel companies in the nationwide Top 100. In 2011, it became the only travel company to receive the title \u201cChinese Time Honored Brand,\u201d followed in 2018 by recognition as an outstanding Chinese inbound tourism enterprise. Since 2024, the recovery rate in inbound tourism has consistently remained above the national average, underscoring the company\u2019s stability and operational strength.<\/p>

More than seven decades of corporate history also reflect the development of China\u2019s tourism industry. From its beginnings as an organization focused on receiving international visitors to its evolution into a market oriented and publicly listed enterprise, Shanghai CITS has continued to develop over time. In doing so, the company has not only accompanied the growth of the industry but has also actively contributed to shaping it through its experience and international network. The commitment to promoting international exchange, fulfilling social responsibility, and creating economic momentum continues to define the company to this day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our History Founded in 1954, we bring seven decades of expertise to modern travel. We blend time-honored heritage with contemporary professionalism to deliver exceptional travel services. 1954 to 1966 Foundation and Early Development On July 27, 1954, the Shanghai municipal government approved the establishment of the Shanghai branch of the China International Travel Service. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-65","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":628,"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65\/revisions\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scits.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}