Welcome the New Year in style in Shanghai
Ringing the bell at Longhua Temple (file photo).
Get ready to ring in the New Year in style! In a boisterous and festive atmosphere, residents and tourists will usher in 2025 at Longhua Temple and the West Bund in Xuhui District on December 31 in a both traditional and trendy way!
As the iconic "first tour of the New Year in Shanghai," the celebration will welcome some 200 expats and foreign tourists from countries such as Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and Switzerland.
Foreign tourists are taking chartered flights to Shanghai to join in the most grand Shanghai-style celebration.
For the first time, the event, which dates back to 1989, has been expanded to the banks of the Huangpu River with a grand celebration and visual feast to wow travelers at Gate M West Bund Dream Center, a former cement factory turned landmark.
An outdoor ice rink by the riverside in West Bund has opened to the public.
With innovative attractions such as a large-scale outdoor ice rink by the riverside, dock light show, winter market, and pop-up performances, the dream center is launching its Fantasy Waterfront Carnival, a two-month extravaganza.
It will be illuminated by nearly 1,000 dazzling lights, casting a magical glow along the 800-meter riverside promenade. The lights will create a dreamy atmosphere, reminiscent of snowflakes gently falling onto a starry river.
Adding to the magic, Brass Band, China's iconic jazz brass ensemble, will lead a lively parade along the waterfront, with musical performances and float parades scheduled.
At the New Year's Day market, more than 60 wooden huts will light up the riverside, tempting tourists with delicacies from all over the world.
A band performance in the West Bund.
The main venue for the 2025 Shanghai New Year's First Tour will still be at the Longhua area.
On the evening of the event, a large-scale three-dimensional paper-cutting will be displayed on the circular glass house in Longhua Square.
This folk-themed paper-cutting scroll, created by the team of Li Shoubai, a representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai-style paper-cutting, will panoramically showcase the features of Xuhui and Shanghai, skillfully blending Shanghai's diverse culture with the festive atmosphere of the New Year and expressing people's beautiful expectations for 2025.
At the same time, the square's pool will be adorned with romantic river lanterns.
Traditional programs of the "Shanghai New Year's First Tour" such as striking the bronze bell at the ancient Longhua Temple, watching dragon and lion dances, visiting the New Year's post office, and tasting noodles across the New Year, are all indispensable.
The celebration will climax when the bronze bell is rung at midnight on New Year's Eve, a traditional way to celebrate the New Year in China.
The bell is struck 108 times, a tradition believed to bring good luck while eliminating grief and worry.
The Longhua Temple is illuminated.
A splendid cultural performance integrating dragon and lion dances, acrobatics, Chinese-style music, and intangible cultural heritage rolling lanterns will be presented on the main stage of the square.
A winter bazaar will be held at Longhuahui, bringing together 30 time-honored brands.
Most activities don't require reservation except one – the visit to the Longhua Temple on the night of December 31.
At 5pm daily through December 30, reservation slots will be available on the WeChat account of Xuhui Culture and Tourism (徐汇文旅).
