CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, June 12, 2020 | 17 LIFE SHANGHAI Festival draws both bookworms, night owls By ZHANG KUN [email protected] Culture and art are indispensable to the Shanghai Nightlife Festival, where over 40 museums and 30 bookshops are opening their doors to night owls from June 6 to 30. The Shanghai Museum has extended its operating hours for each Saturday of the month and organized a series of special events to offer visitors a different experience from the day. June 6 marked the first time this year the museum opened its doors in the evening. That night, a temporary marketplace selling muse- um merchandise was set up in the ground- floor lobby. Limited-edition traditional Chinese cook- ies were also sold at the museum’s canteen, and a set of five-flavored Chinese yellow liquor, introduced by Shanghai Museum’s first livestream, attracted many visitors to have a sip. “Shanghai Museum has participated in the city’s nightlife festival not as a shop or retailer,” Yang Zhigang, director of the museum, said on June 6. “Creativity, reflected in all the muse- um’s merchandise, is the display of the strength of culture. We hope to enrich the cul- tural lives of people and allow them to take Bringing the fight home a part of the museum.” “It gave me great satisfaction to enjoy the arts and culture in the fine evening weather of June, the most comfortable period in the city,” a woman surnamed Yang told Shanghai Observ- er, a local news portal. Yang was one of the first to make reserva- to the night tions upon learning about the evening sessions at Shanghai Museum. “This is the first time after the COVID-19 pandemic that the museum is open in the In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, Shanghai is leveraging its nighttime economy evenings and I think there is a special signifi- cance to witnessing Shanghai coming back to to boost consumption and aid economic recovery, Xing Yi reports. normal,” she says. Visitors to the museum’s night sessions will ith the novel coronavirus Wine & Liquor Festival was held at the be able to view ongoing exhibitions such as outbreak reined in across 1933 Old Millfun, a former abattoir trans- Spring Blowing in the Wind: Jiangnan Culture China, cities have been formed into a modern complex compris- Art Exhibition, Infinite Compassion: The Cal- taking measures to boost ing restaurants, shops and studios, last ligraphy of Zhao Puchu and Elegant Friends consumption.W Shanghai, for instance, weekend. Hongkou says it’ll also host for a Lofty Studio: Scholars’ Rocks Presented by has turned to leveraging its nighttime wine- and liquor-tasting events on the Hu Kemin. economy. third week of every month. The evening sessions at Shanghai Museum Following Shanghai’s Double Five In Huangpu district, Li Shiyi, a young are free of charge but visitors will have to make Shopping Festival, an event that focused Shanghai paper-cutting artist, joined the reservations ahead of time on the official web- on promoting e-commerce through lives- evening art fair held at Sinan Mansions, site or WeChat platform. Visitor numbers for treams and virtual coupons, the city whose 1920s-era Western European build- each Saturday will be capped at 1,000. Admis- unveiled the Double Six Nightlife Festival ings have often been used for book launch- sion will be between 6 and 9 pm, with the last on June 6, offering night owls a bevy of es, art exhibitions and cultural salons. entry at 8 pm. retail, dining and lifestyle options. “I’ve attended many art fairs before and Reservations have to be made using a valid this time I’m bringing not only my paper- ID, and visitors are required to present their On the Bund cutting works, but also peripheral prod- IDs and health QR codes upon entering the That day, the 150-meter-long Fengjing ucts with Shanghai art designs, such as museum. Those who are unable to show up Road which leads to the southern part of phone cases and yellow liquors,” Li says. have to cancel their reservations at least two the Bund was transformed into a market The venue for the China International hours ahead. in the evening. The three rows of white Import Expo has also been turned into a Other museums, such as Shanghai Histo- tents housing around 100 vendors selling market. Here, visitors can shop for ry Museum, Shanghai Luxun Memorial snacks, beers and novelties were packed imported products that were previously Museum and the suburban Jiading Muse- with people. sold during the expo, such as coffee from um, will also host events in the evening “We are a weekend pop-up fair with a New Zealand, rice from Japan and wines hours. beautiful skyline of the Bund,” says Yang from Italy. At Sinan Mansions, a cluster of villa build- Bokai, who is in charge of the market. Tang Guifa, general manager of the ings in the heart of the former French Conces- “You can quaff pints of Tsingtao beer or National Exhibition and Convention Cen- sion, the nightlife festival is made up of sip Rio cocktails at our eight bars, taste a ter (Shanghai), says the venue will hold outdoor concerts, a lifestyle marketplace and variety of delicacies at the 30 food carts two night-market events during week- snack bars. In one of the buildings in the com- here, play games and watch the live con- ends in June and resume exhibitions in plex is Sinan Books, which is among the doz- certs.” July. ens of brick-and-mortar bookshops hosting Flanked by the Fosun Art Center and special events during the festival. the Bund Finance Center, the market also Malls play their part At Sinan Books, 50 desks will be set up for features activities held on the rooftop ter- Eighteen big shopping malls owned by late-night readers between 8 pm and midnight races of the BFC and the art center, where Shanghai’s Bailian Group stayed open every weekend. Special discounts are also people can enjoy the view of the Bund until 11 pm on the opening day of the available for books and merchandise. On the and the skyscrapers on the other side of nightlife festival on June 6. first weekend, the 50 desks were fully booked the Huangpu River. A traditional Chinese music concert soon after word got out. “The fair will be held every weekend was held in the open-air area of Bailian through the rest of the year,” Yang says. Xijiao Shopping Mall while a techno dis- “In case of rain, we’ve also prepared spe- co event was held on Huaihai Road in the cial fluorescent raincoats for the public.” newly opened Bailian TX from 9 pm on June 6 until 2 am on June 7. Downtown areas Many of the shopping malls have also Another nightlife-festival site is the Top: Time­honored local restaurants draw visitors to Shanghai’s Yu Garden launched small markets within their Anyi Road Night Market, a 250-meter shopping arcade. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY premises and are offering 500 million lane located just a block away from the Middle: Shanghai residents visit the weekend night market at the Bund yuan ($71 million) worth of discount city’s bustling West Nanjing Road. Financial Center on June 6. Above: People wander near the gate of the coupons on Alipay to Shanghai resi- Like the site on the Bund, this market weekend night market on Fengjing Road. PHOTOS BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY dents. was teeming with visitors. In light of the festival, the city has “I knew there would be crowds, but I extended the operating hours of metro didn’t expect so many people,” says Tian lines 1, 2, 9 and 10. Starting from June 6, Suyuan, who works at an IT company. these lines will operate until midnight on “But I found it to be a great place to I think this new initiative of having a nightlife Fridays and Saturdays. hang out with friends and family as some “I used to go to the old Pengpu night indoor entertainment, such as movie the- festival is good. The night market has always been market on Linfen Road, but after it was aters, haven’t reopened yet.” part of the urban culture, and many people long for shut down in 2017, there just wasn’t The Anyi Road Night Market was another night market that was conve- launched by the Kerry Center with the a place to relax after work.” nient enough for me to get to,” Yangpu support of Jing’an district in October. It Xu Jin, a Shanghai resident resident Xu Jin says. also serves as a weekend market, with “I think this new initiative of having a traffic through the site closed from Friday nightlife festival is good. The night mar- evening through Sunday. ket has always been part of the urban Cai Junyi, a community manager of the and we will change the theme of the night set in traditional shikumen-style build- culture, and many people long for a Jing’an Kerry Center, says the market was market every two months.” ings; Wujiang Road, which is known for place to relax after work. I’ve often had upgraded when it reopened after the out- its traditional local-snack shops; Xujiahui meals with friends at the sidewalk food break. Around the city and Hengshan Road, another popular stalls at night in the past, and I really “During this summer month, we want The festival has also singled out several bar-and-cafe stretch; and College Road, hope to rediscover that feeling at the to make the market a big garden and commercial areas as the city’s nightlife which is located near Fudan University new night markets.” Visitors read at Sinan Books in Shanghai bring back the old flower market to the landmarks.