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Entertainment
Guide to Entertainment, Events and Nightlife
in Shanghai
For the latest on nightlife
and entertainment in the city, pick up a free copy of the bi-weekly
City Weekend magazine available from most Western restaurants and
bars.
Classical
Music and Theatre
You can enjoy performances of traditional classical music inside the
Yu Gardens (Yuyuan Lu), though not on a regular basis. For details
of upcoming events, call on Tel: +86 (0)21-6328-3251.
The best place to see Chinese and Western concerts, ballets and
plays is the Shanghai Grand Theatre (300 Renmin Dadao, People's Sq,
Tel: +86 (0)21-6372-8702/6372-3833). The theatre also puts on
nightly acrobatics shows. The box office is located below the stairs
of the main entrance.
Modern Music
There are several venues across the city where you can listen to
live music. Ark Live House (15 Xintiandi, lane 181 Taicang Lu, Tel:
+86 (0)21-6326-8008) plays host to regular rock bands from Shanghai
and other Chinese cities. Open: 17h30-02h00.
The Cotton Club (1428 Central Huaihai Lu, corner of Gaoan Lu, Tel:
+86 (0)21-6437-7110), as you may have guessed for the name, is a
jazz bar with an in-house band who play various styles of jazz in a
cosy, smoky atmosphere (just as it should be). Gets full quickly,
minimum bar fee of CNY35 per person. Open: Sun-Thu 21h30-00h30,
Fri-Sat 22h00-01h30.
Jazz fans might also want to check out the House of Blues and Jazz
(158 South Maoming Lu, near Fuxing Lu, Tel: +86 (0)21-6437-5280)
where recorded or live jazz is played nightly from 17h30-01h30.
Cinema
There are numerous cinemas around the city. Two favourites are:
Studio City Cinema
10F Westgate Mall, West Nanjing Lu and Jiangning Lu (Shimen yi Lu
metro)
Kodak Cinema World
5th Fl, Metro City mall, Zhao Jia Bang Lu (Xujiahui metro)
Tel: +86 (0)21-6426-8181
Chinese
Massage
After pounding the streets all day or dancing the night away, you
might want to think about combining culture and a bit of pampering
in the form of a reflexology massage - ideal for putting the spring
back in your step, ready for the next day's exertions. There are
massage parlours all over the city, with generally fairly uniform
prices.
Blindman Massage (21, Lane 372 Xingguo Lu Tel: +86
(0)21-6283-3689/6283-0700) provides Chinese foot massage and
pressure massage. Open 10h00-03h00. Price for a body massage is
CNY50 for 60 minutes or for a foot massage, CNY60 for 60 minutes.
Cheap rates apply before 16h00.
Nightlife
If you head for any of the areas listed in the Bars (link to
restaurants and bars) section, you'll find plenty of places open
till late, some of them clubs - and the regulars in many of the
ordinary bars aren't averse to a bit of dancing in the wee hours. If
you want a proper club, though, the following are all popular:
Buddha Bar
172 Maoming South Lu, near Fuxing Lu
Tel: +86 (0)21-6415-2688
Small, intimate lounge bar turns to a sweaty club in the early hours
of the morning with a variety of tunes. Door policy is tight, so
better to go early. Open: 19h30-04h00.
Pegasus
2nd F, Golden Bell Plaza, 98 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Longmen Lu
Tel: +86 (0)21-5385-8187
Large club, a bit on the flashy side. Holds student nights on
Thursdays. Open: 18h00-04h00.
Upstairs at Park 97
2 Gaolan Lu, inside Fuxing park
Tel: +86 (0)21-5383-2328
The bar, restaurant, disco combo offers enough variety to keep the
punters in all night. Open 23h30-02h00.
Special Events
The dates of special events in China follow the Chinese lunar
calendar, which means that they take place at slightly different
times each year according to the Gregorian calendar. To check the
exact dates of events each year, contact the Shanghai Tourist Office
at 2525 Zhongshan West Lu, Shanghai 200030, Tel: +86
(0)21-6439-3615.
January/Febuary
Chinese New Year usually takes place in the first half of February
and is a major celebration in Shanghai just as in any other city of
China. Expect the city to be heaving with people celebrating. Though
the five days of celebration are, for many, a family time, there's
usually plenty in the way of street parades, dragon dancing and
fireworks to keep visitors entertained. A week or so after New Year
is the Lantern Festival in which parks and temples are lit up with
lanterns, often accompanied by fireworks and dancing.
April/May
Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival is celebrated at the end
of April at Songyuan Tea Art Hall. Longhua Temple celebrates its
annual fair at around the same time with shopping stalls and various
festivities being held in the complex.
Chi'ng Ming or Qingming is celebrated in April to remember the dead.
Ancestors' graves are cleaned and the superstitious avoid having
operations or conducting important business meetings, believing them
to bring bad luck on this day. It is also believed that spirits of
the dead will come back at this time if they have unfinished
business in the living world, so watch out.
June
In early to mid June the Dragon Boat Festival is held to commemorate
the death of the great Chinese poet Qu Yuan who drowned himself in
the river in 278 BC after being sent into exile. Legend has it that
people were so distraught at his having drowned that fishermen rowed
out into the river and threw zongzi (rice dumplings wrapped in
bamboo leaves) into the water in an attempt to salvage the body. To
celebrate his life, dragon boat races are held on rivers throughout
the country and zongzi eaten in remembrance of this event.
September/October
The Shanghai tourism festival, around Nanjing pedestrian zone area,
sees floats processing through town and general festivities around
the city. On the night of the full moon in September or October, the
Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, sometimes also known as
the Moon Festival, by watching the moon and eating sweet moon cakes.
Some of the more cultured members of the population gather to write
poems and recite them to each other (usually accompanied by large
amounts of drink).
The Double-Ninth Festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the
ninth month of the lunar calendar, nine being a lucky number
according to the rules of yin and yang. It is now a festival for the
aged, when people pray for long life and traditionally climb hills
or towers, drink chrysanthemum wine and eat "double ninth cake."
The Shanghai Formula One Grand Prix was inaugurated in 2004 and
looks set to become a regular event every October. The three-day
event is tremendously popular so if you want tickets, book early,
and in any case if you're visiting while it's on, make sure you book
accommodation in good time.
November
Each November there is an international art festival at various
galleries around town, which open their doors to showcase a wide
variety of artwork.
December
Longhua temple puts on a bell ringing festival, a great event for
anyone interested in Buddhist celebrations.
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