Pudong rings in the Spring Festival with a spectacular celebration and activities galore
Print Edition
Shanghai’s Pudong New Area hosted a diverse range of activities during the Spring Festival, immersing both local residents and visitors from around the world in the vibrant and festive spirit of the Chinese New Year.
This year’s festival — marking the first celebration since its addition to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage last December — began on January 29 and concluded on February 12 with the Lantern Festival.
Throughout the celebration, a collaborative effort between culture, tourism and commerce brought the charm of the Lunar New Year to life, creating a memorable experience for all.
Heritage meets commerce
Heritage culture took center stage at the celebratory events held at Jinqiao International Plaza. Traditional folk skills such as paper cutting, sugar blowing and sugar painting were showcased up close for children, while the traditional glutinous rice balls from Pudong’s Chuansha Town and aged vinegar from China’s Shanxi Province provided people with the “flavor of the New Year.”
Community celebration
As one of the most influential cultural brand activities in the Jinqiao area, the event bringing together Chinese and expat families to celebrate the Lantern Festival has already been held 19 times. This year’s event attracted nearly 1,000 participants from local and expat families as well as key enterprises and schools.
A charity sale drew in many families, while a garden party added to the festive allure. “It’s very lively, and I really like traditional Chinese festivals,” said Dariusz Rojek, an expat who came with his family to watch the performance. “We have lived in Pudong for seven years. We tasted traditional delicacies and viewed lanterns, and it was very interesting.”
In Jinqiao’s Biyun community, people celebrated the Lantern Festival by learning to make traditional rice cakes. More than 30 local and expat residents participated in the event.
‘Blazing’ culture fusion
The large-scale song and dance performance “Shanghai Everlasting Legend” at Songcheng Performance Park was a remarkable success during the festival, setting new records for the highest number of daily shows and the largest number of visitors in Shanghai’s large-scale tourism performances.
The park used “fire” as a medium, combining fire shows with martial arts and dance to create a spectacular and fiery feast for visitors. This carnival, which integrated fire cultures from all over the country, ignited a sense of “Chinese-style” romance and passion, conveying abundant festive enthusiasm and a lively spirit.
Lantern Festival
Vibrant events were also held across Pudong to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
In Sanlin Town, a cultural art tour featured a 100-meter-long dragon, stilt walkers, clowns and traditional performances, as well as local intangible cultural heritage such as embroidery, porcelain carving and lion and dragon dances. Gaoqiao Town’s old street was adorned with 100 rabbit lanterns, with activities like riddle-solving and cultural heritage exploration offering a traditional Chinese experience. Chuansha Town hosted a folk parade that turned the ancient town into a dazzling river of lights. In Xinchang Town, traditional activities like touhu (arrow shooting), archery and lantern riddle guessing were complemented by performances such as cuju (ancient Chinese football), acrobatics and magic.
Shopping carnival
From January 28 to February 3, 35 shopping malls in the new area recorded 7.53 million visitors, and 31 key commercial enterprises achieved a total sales volume of 809 million yuan (US$110.7 million).
From January 24 to February 28, consumers who spent over 1,000 yuan offline could participate in a lottery for a one-year use of a IM Zhiji new energy vehicle. The first two draws were completed on February 9, with two winners selected under notary supervision. Three more winners will be drawn by the end of the month.
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