Dancers and members of a Maori art troupe from New Zealand participate in the opening parade of the tourism festival.[Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

This year marked the sixth time that Shanghai Disney Resort participated in the opening ceremony parade of the Shanghai Tourism Festival with its Duffy Express float.

"Since this was a night parade, light played a major role in how we designed the float. The float was created with several light boxes of varying shapes and sizes," says Denny Newell, director, creative and production, entertainment, Shanghai Disney Resort.

"We also paid close attention to the details, combining both Chinese elements and familiar Disney iconography. Some of these elements include the Chinese pattern used as the background for the train's carriage, and the Mickey-head-shaped Chinese knots found throughout the design."