Jing’an District’s “Nightlife Season” sparkles with installations across HKRI Taikoo Hui, Zhangyuan Garden and Fengshengli for a bustling ecosystem of markets, dining, art and LV’s “The Louis,” mixing tradition and innovation and boosting the night economy.
Shanghai’s Jing’an District has launched its first-ever “Nightlife Season,” aiming to set a new benchmark for the city’s after-dark culture. From landmark light projections to glowing parasols, a dazzling program of installations is casting the district in theatrical hues, turning Jing’an into a dynamic hub for fashion, leisure and upscale experiences long after sunset.
Anchored on Wujiang Road, the festival connects three of the district’s marquee destinations — HKRI Taikoo Hui, Zhangyuan Garden and Fengshengli — into a vibrant nighttime ecosystem of markets, terrace dining, public art and outdoor events.
Each venue contributes its own character: HKRI Taikoo Hui blends creativity with art-driven retail; Zhangyuan Garden merges historic heritage with contemporary entertainment; and Fengshengli focuses on food and social life. Together they form one of Shanghai’s most ambitious experiments in building a modern night economy that bridges tradition and innovation.
“The Louis,” Louis Vuitton’s cruise boat-style cultural and commercial landmark, is anchored at HKRI Taikoo Hui. It combines exhibition, food and retail, proof of the allure of Shanghai and China as attractions for international business.
Also, visitors can browse a curated night market featuring artisanal food, open-air theater, live performances and virtual reality immersive experiences. To amplify the cultural atmosphere, the mall has unveiled “Ocean Encounters,” a public art exhibition created with artists from China, the United Kingdom and Japan. Through large-scale installations and interactive displays, the show reimagines the shopping complex as a vast seascape, inviting audiences to reflect on the dialogue between urban life and nature.
Zhangyuan Garden — one of the largest surviving shikumen complexes in Shanghai — has extended its opening hours to midnight during the festival. Alongside the historic alleys, visitors can sample five specialty beers and four new cocktails designed to capture the spirit of summer nights.
A headline draw is the area’s partnership with Disney China for a Zootopia-themed pop-up. The immersive event recreates scenes from the hit animation film and includes themed shops. Luxury names like Givenchy and Diptyque are also seizing the moment, staging global premieres and exclusive showcases that reinforce Jing’an’s growing reputation as a magnet for high-end retail.
Fengshengli, meanwhile, is leaning into Shanghai’s appetite for trendy dining and nightlife. Along Maoming Road N., restaurants and cafés are extending hours and expanding outdoor seating, offering everything from international cuisine to inventive cocktails. Its blend of stylish venues and social buzz has made it a hotspot for younger crowds looking for fresh late-night experiences.
To bring more people into the mix, the district has rolled out the “Jing’an Night Sail Pass.” The pass links nearly 1,000 merchants — from malls and hotels to restaurants and theaters — and offers discounts, gifts and reward points, creating a cross-sector consumption loop.
Its daytime counterpart passes, introduced earlier this year, were seized within hours, highlighting how integrated ticketing can extend consumer journeys across exhibitions, cafés, historic sites and shopping centers.
But the festival isn’t just about shopping and dining. The cultural lineup is equally robust: immersive theater productions like “Sleep No More,” live music at Paramount Livehouse and the Majestic Theatre, open-air film screenings, street performances and artist-led exhibitions that spill into public squares.
Themed routes link cultural landmarks such as the Shanghai Natural History Museum and the Picasso Art Center, offering nighttime tours that blend history, architecture and contemporary art. For younger audiences, even fitness finds a place in the program, with late-night yoga and aerobics sessions lighting up outdoor plazas.
By weaving commerce, culture and creativity together, Jing’an’s “Nightlife Season” reflects how urban districts are reinventing themselves after dark. More than a festival, it’s a test case for Shanghai’s ambitions to build a globally competitive night economy — one where lifestyle, heritage and innovation thrive side by side.
The Shanghai Book Fair, held from August 13 to 19 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center with an expanded mix of literature, culture and lifestyle, attracted more than 382,000 readers.
For the first time, the venue’s fountain square and gardens held an outdoor “Reading Night Market” on weekdays from 5:30pm to 10pm and until 10:30pm on weekends. After 9pm, guests without book fair tickets could visit the vendors selling cultural crafts, creative items, refreshing drinks and light meals.
The market-like atmosphere was further enhanced by childhood activities like hopscotch and ring toss, giving the fair a fun, family-friendly vibe.
A volunteer team of international students from the College of International Education at Shanghai University added to the dynamic atmosphere. Fluent in many languages and known for their cheerful demeanor, they served as “living maps” for visitors while also promoting Jing’an as cultural ambassadors.
This year’s fair launched the “Jing’an First Release” initiative with Shanghai Century Publishing and other publishers. New book launch platforms at CITIC Square, Jing An Kerry Centre and HKRI Taikoo Hui demonstrate the synergy between cultural IP and urban retail.
The bilingual release of “The Story of the Left Bank of Suzhou Creek,” a book on 12 riverbank heritage structures, was a highlight. Author Zhu Yining, who leads Shanghai citywalks, hopes readers will uncover the city’s architectural gems and appreciate their historic value and urban rebirth.
The launch was followed by a panel discussion. According to Professor Zhu Dajian of Tongji University, Suzhou Creek is becoming a model for world-class waterfront development by combining culture, commerce, ecology and community.
Huang Yihai, director of the Shanghai Bank Museum, reflected on the adaptive reuse of historic riverbank warehouses, which now offer fresh views of the city’s financial history.
Andy Boreham, a Shanghai Daily columnist and long-time foreign resident of the Suzhou Creek stretch covered in the book, said the area has become a riverfront destination for jogging, citywalks, photography and café-to-bar culture, a place where people can immerse themselves in art and city life. It has become an essential destination for many foreigners in Shanghai, he added.
The 2025 Global Esports Conference has concluded in Jing’an. The event brought together global industry executives to address cross-regional resource integration, cultural exchange and long-term growth, with the objective of fostering an open and collaborative global esports ecosystem.
China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association Esports Committee, Jing’an Administration of Culture and Tourism and Japan Esports Union signed a strategic collaboration memorandum of understanding at the conference. Tournament operations, content creation, industry research, international standards, talent development, technological R&D and data analytics will be the focus. The partnership seeks to expand international esports collaboration using Jing’an’s industrial foundation and policy advantages.
An artist's rendition of the esports park to be built in Jing'an
The event also announced the “Lingjing Fusion” plan to recruit premium resources, organize high-profile competitions, incubate breakthrough goods, and develop a full-cycle service center at the Lingshi China Esports Center for the “global esports capital” core area.
Riot Games’ worldwide competitive season finale, VALORANT Champions 2026, will be held in Shanghai for the first time. The tournament, featuring top teams from all major areas, is the highest level of VALORANT competition and will enhance Shanghai’s worldwide esports profile.
The 2025 China Esports Industry Report showed that the industry generated 12.76 billion yuan (US$1.78 billion) in revenue in the first half of 2025, up 6.1 percent year-over-year, with around 493 million users nationwide.
Jing’an is home to about 100 esports companies, including Riot Games, EA, TJ Sports and local developers. About 15 district-developed games are licensed annually. Creative hubs including the Shanghai Ultra High-definition Audiovisual Industrial Cluster, esports-ready stadiums like the Jing’an Sports Center, and professional broadcast and extended reality studios are in the district.
Jing’an is also developing an esports park. The project, near Wenshui Road Station on Metro Line 1, will feature dedicated arenas, exhibition spaces and a cluster of game studios to create an immersive ecosystem for competition, content production and fan engagement. It is expected to be completed in February 2026.
Jing’an has unveiled enhanced financial support for industry players. Those who invest in building film/TV production hubs or esports venues in the district can apply for one-time grants of up to 10 million yuan.
