Get set for icy fun at Shanghai’s first international winter festival
SHANGHAI’S first international winter festival began yesterday at the North Bund waterfront, featuring a new landmark outdoor skating rink and events to promote the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.
The Shanghai International Winter Festival, to run through February 20 at 501 Dongdaming Road in Hongkou District, will include ice performances, skating training and flashmobs along with celebrations for New Year’s Eve, the Lantern Festival and Valentine’s Day.
As a highlight, a heart-shape skating rink was unveiled opposite of the Sinar Mas Plaza, the tallest building in Puxi and organizer of the festival.
Residents and tourists are invited to a New Year countdown around the new rink on
December 31 and celebrate the new year along with those on the opposite side of the Huangpu River.
A winter sports camp for children will be held between January 19 and February 16 at the site. Various games of the winter Olympics will be presented and taught at the camp. A series of performances and cosplay shows will also be staged.
National tourism bureaus, airlines and chambers of commerce of different countries are invited to present icethemed flashmobs around the rink through February. Former athletes and representatives from the host cities of previous winter Olympics will also give performances and lectures on the winter games.
Heritage skills masters from the city’s Yuyuan Garden will make traditional yuanxiao dumplings and artworks for the Lantern Festival on February 8.
Visitors can also solve riddles and enjoy lanterns at the riverside rink.
The event is expected to attract some of the large number of visitors at the Yuyuan Garden Malls, the district government said.
Photo competition
Local couples are encouraged to take selfies between February 12 and 18 on the waterfront for Valentine’s Day. The best couples will be win a photo opportunity on the top floor of the 320-meter-high building.
The main building of the plaza is the fourth-tallest in Shanghai, after the 632-meter
Shanghai Tower, 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center and 420.5-meter Jin Mao Tower in Pudong’s Lujiazui area.
The new building surpassed the 250-meter Shimao International Plaza to become Puxi’s tallest building. However, construction is under way on two skyscrapers in Puxi that will be taller than the plaza.
The plaza cooperated with the German Advanced Sporting Technology after the second China International Import Expo in November to jointly develop the project, the organizer said.
It is also part of Shanghai’s efforts to boost its nightlife economy with additional cultural and sports attractions at night, according to the Hongkou District government.