• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 6, 2007

Property has gotten so pricey in China's main port city of Shanghai that billboard advertisers are placing giant digital billboards on the sides of ferries and pleasure cruises that ply the busy harbor and Huangpu River.

In the first installation, Media Holding Limited, China's largest digital media business, signed a contract with the city government allowing it to place a 1,500-square-foot LED billboard on the side of a passenger vessel that sails just offshore from Shanghai's "Bund" -- the city's frenetic financial and shopping district. The 50-by-30-foot maritime billboard complements Media Holding's 200 existing LED signs in Shanghai's commercial zones.

The maritime billboard promises to reach a large audience in a very high-traffic area. Zhongshan Road, the center of the Bund, is a 10-lane street that stretches one mile along the waterfront. Most of China's large banks and businesses, including international operations, are represented along this road. A promenade located on a levee between the road and the river attracts millions of tourists every year.

Shanghai has a population of over 16 million--and in 2006, attracted 10 million foreign and domestic tourists, according to the Shanghai Tourism Industry. That compares with 43.8 million visiting New York City.