Authorities in Shanghai have unveiled 28 tourism and culture projects, with an investment totalling 108 billion Yuan ($15.7 billion).

The aim of the initiative is for Shanghai to become a top tourism investment destination in the Asia-Pacific region, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reports.

Shanghai will take further steps to become a globally renowned tourist city by boosting confidence, increasing consumption, stabilising growth and attracting further investment, said the director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Fang Shizhong, during the 2nd Shanghai Tourism Investment Promotion Conference.

The 28 projects to be carried out comprise "four cultural tourism clusters – red cultural tourism, fashion cultural tourism, so-called 'haipai' cultural tourism and Jiangnan (regions in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) cultural tourism," Shine News reports.

One of the key projects includes an indoor ski resort over 90,000 square metres in size. Set to open in the first half of next year, it is hoped the resort will increase Shanghai's tourism industrial chain and boost winter sports amongst the city's residents, it was announced at the conference.

Also included is a hotel and shopping village project at the core area of Shanghai International Resort, the renovation and expansion of Shanghai Confucian Temple, a cultural, commercial and tourism complex in the Yuyuan Garden scenic area, as well as an international cultural and tourism resort in Jinshan District.

It was also announced at the conference earlier this week that a skyrail will be constructed over the Huangpu River. The 'Heart of Huangpu River' will link the West Bund Financial Hub in Xuhui District and the World Expo Park in the Pudong New Area, said the chairman of the China Tourism Group, Wang Haimin.