As Chinese New Year 2017 quickly approaches, we know some of you may have forgotten to book that amazing trip to Thailand, or watched as flight prices soared. No need to worry – if you’re stuck in Shanghai for the Spring Festival break, we have you covered.
1. Enjoy a traditional Spring Festival Meal
There's no shortage of traditional holiday cuisine options and we've laid them all out in our mega-CNY Dining and Events Guide, from mega luxrious meals at fancy Chinese restaurants to special promotions at your favorite Western spots.
2. Don't worry, you won't starve
Had your fill of niangao and other traditional treats? Don't worry, many places across the city are staying open — and you might be calling them home for the next week.
3. Eat Your ABCs
China famously has enough dishes to fill an alphabet - for real, check out our illustrated alphabet to the country's most famous dishes and spend the holiday hunting them down. There's now a delicious reason to brush up on your Chinese.
4. Get out of town
Yes, this seems contrary to this whole list, but there's still a few local travel organizations arranging Spring Festival getaways that you can join up with. Check out our full list of last minute getaways here.
5. Visit Longhua Temple
The most prosperous way to kick off the Year of the Rooster is to ring the bell at Longhua Temple. At the stroke of midnight, the bell will be struck exactly 108 times. Other services will also be held at different times throughout the holiday. While there’s going to be a ton of people looking to do the honors, there’s still plenty to check out at the temple including what appears as the happiest Buddha statue ever.
Longhua Temple: 2853 Longhua Lu, by Longhua Park 龙华路2853, 近龙华烈士陵园
6. Check out the fireworks at Shanghai Disneyland
Fireworks and firecrackers are banned within the Outer Ring Road (read why here), but you'll still be able to catch them out at Shanghai Disneyland (along with a bunch of other special activities going down at Disneytown). As part of a special promotion, you'll also have the chance to show special messages after the show. With any purchase in the park, you'll be able to scan a QR code and enter in a wish on your phone, which will then be displayed after the fireworks.
7. Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival
The Year of the Rooster is officially on with this annual celebration held across the world that marks the end of the Spring Festival with a dazzling display of lanterns. As always, Yu Gardens is the place to be for Shanghai’s most boisterous celebrations. Last year’s festivities attracted over 300,000 people.
Feb 11, 2pm, RMB80 (adults); RMB50 (children). Yu Garden, 288 Fuyou Lu, by Lishui Lu 福佑路288号, 近丽水路
8. Watch a Chinese Blockbuster
This week is devoted to Chinese
blockbusters angling to rule the all-important Spring Festival period. Check out our breakdown of box office contenders like Journey to the West (pictured above), Buddies in India and more here.
9. Part-ay
While this is seemingly the one week of the year where Shanghai's clubs are taking a break, there's still some options to get your dance on or catch a live show. See the full CNY Gig Guide and Party Planner here, or check out our list of dinners and other CNY events here.
10. Create Your Own Subway Adventure
If you haven't checked it out yet, our Shanghai bucket list has plenty of great tips to get the most from the city. With the extension of Lines 11, 12 and 13 last year, there are now 364 metro stations in Shanghai. So choose from one of the lines, grab some road Tsingtaos and ride to somewhere new. Some suggestions - Disney Resort (Line 11), Thames Town/Qibao/Korea Town (Line 9), The Kuomintang's New Shanghai City (Line 8) and Dishui Lake (Line 16).
11. Sohu and chill
Netflix might be spotty, but there are still plenty of TV shows available to stream for free on Chinese platforms. Sohu, Youku, iQiyi, PPTV and QQ Video all have exclusive rights to popular shows (including Westworld). Peruse through our latest "What's New" columns to find out which shows are currently streaming. And of course, if you're craving something newer, stock up at your neighborhood DVD store.
12. Delve into the Mainland music scene
Go on a deep dive into the Mainland's burgeoning music scene with our Top 50 Mainland Albums List of 2016 and discover a diverse scene.
13. Read a book
Celebrate Chinese New Year and your inner bookworm, by curling up on the couch with a good read with a Mainland bent. Checking out our past book reviews where we cover everything from the most popular sci-fi series in China, to a concise history of that fair city up north to a collection of fictional vignettes on residents living in Shenzhen.
14. Write erotic fiction
The Shanghai International Literary Festival is returning to M on the Bund in March and so is the sixth annual That’s Shanghai Erotic Fiction Competition. It is once again time to dip your quill in the inkwell and set our loins aquiver with fervid, fleshy, filthy prose — why not do it over the long break? Stories must be set in Shanghai and 1,000 words or less. Details on how to submit your entry here.
15. See the artwork that inspired Hotline Bling
For their first major exhibition of the year, Long Museum West Bund scores a big one with this retrospective from the award-winning American artist known for his innovative work with light (which Drake famously paid tribute to in his 'Hotline Bling' video). Throughout his acclaimed decades-long career, Turrell has worked with extinct volcanoes and creating skyscapes through enclosed apertures. The exhibition will be going on throughout the holiday, but hours may be limited — we'd recommend calling ahead of time to see when the museum is open.
See listing for Long Museum (West Bund).
16. Join a Pub Quiz
That's Shanghai's very own quizmaster Ned Kelly will be hosting trivia at The Hop Project on Sunday, January 29. But unlike the standard pub quizzes you might be used to, this one will break up the usual alliances and match you up with a whole new set of teammates. There will be prizes and other giveaways too.
Sunday January 29, The Hop Project. See event listing here.
17. Get a Craft Beer Passport
Where else to ring in the Year of the Rooster than at Rooster? In addition to their CNY party on Friday, January 27, they'll also be launching a "Beer Passport" which gets you a free beer with every purchase of ten. More details here.
See listing for The Rooster.
18. Learn how to ride a Mobike
If you haven't tried this station-less bike share service yet, you're missing out. Now's the perfect time to learn how — check out our guide on how to use it.
0 User Comments