Shanghai set to sparkle like never before

Are you ready to embark on a fantastic journey to pursue the light? Here is a preview.

A month-long dazzling visual spectacle will be presented across Shanghai beginning on Thursday with 129 activities and about 200 light shows planned at one main venue and 12 sub-venues. Highlights of the 2024 Shanghai International Light Festival were unveiled on Wednesday.

With the theme "Travel in Light," the festival that runs until October 18, comprises projection shows on famous buildings, indoor large-scale dome shows, water curtain shows, lighting ceremonies, light art installations, light music concerts, and a global landscape lighting industry exhibition, all presented by top international and professional teams.

The city will be lit up with 119 night view check-in points involving riverside areas along the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, major business circles, historical buildings, tourist attractions, and cultural facilities.

The main venue of the festival is Shanghai Exhibition Center in Jing'an District with light shows and art installation exhibitions on the agenda between September 19 and 27.

In the preface hall, the "Realm of Lights" dome show has two chapters. The unpredictable lighting and projection effects feature mesmerizing colors that resemble flowing waves of light.

In the central hall, an immersive 3D dome projection show is based on the theme of "Eternal Light and Shadow Shine." It celebrates the 75th anniversary of the founding of the country, promotes Chinese traditional culture, and showcases the achievements of the city using high-definition projectors to create a large-scale map.

The south square is the venue for large outdoor neoclassical architectural projection shows. With the theme of "Exploring the Realm of Time and Space, Blooming the Beauty of Light and Shadow," it uses high-definition projectors to blur the outline of the building and portray the "perfect integration of culture and technology" as music plays.

Several theme shows will be performed in turn with each one lasting 13 minutes.

The West Hall 1 holds a landscape lighting achievement exhibition and a global lighting industry exhibition.

The "Beyond the Light Year: Shanghai Landscape Lighting Achievement Exhibition" features a number of innovative and ingenious designs.

"For example, there is a special part paying respect to those who work behind the dazzling landscape lights along the banks of the Huangpu River with design sketches behind the scene replicated via light," said Zhu Qi, who is involved in the arrangement of the show. "We also use paper-cut lamps to replicate the night view of the west bank of the Huangpu River."

A giant wall portrays the city's landscape lighting planning of 2035 in a unique way - drawings collected from children who imagined what the city will look like in 2035.

"These children depict their dream homes in 2035 and they will be the backbone of society at that time as they grow up," said Zhu.

"Magic Shanghai: The Global Landscape Lighting Industry Exhibition" showcases new products, technologies, materials, and ideas in the lighting industry through distinctive light and shadow scenes.

It comprises four chapters with nine exhibits making their debut.

The exhibition employs a diverse array of formats to tell the story of light, allowing visitors to feel and experience light within the scenes.

The piece, "First Encounters with Light," is an installation composed of 50 glass tubes of varying lengths arranged in a circular pattern.

It is a "transparent percussion instrument" that blends the performer and the musical space with the surrounding environment.

When a visitor strikes it, the instrument nurtures a "light" that is akin to life. This fusion of sound and light offers an immersive multisensory experience.

"We look to convey the message that light, in a primitive manner, can also be heart-touching and will bring back childhood memories," said Iijima Yoshitoki, chief designer of the artwork.

Musicians from a local symphony orchestra will present a performance through the installation.

"Starry Sky Reverie" takes visitors into a magnificent dream of gazing at the stars through a space composed of nebula point lights and mirrors that create an infinite expanse. As the cities beneath our feet grow and change rapidly, the splendor and brilliance of the starry sky gradually become more distant from us. This work carries the awakening of collective memories of urban dwellers: with our growing awareness of dark sky protection, a "Starry Dream" is no longer out of reach.

The artwork utilizes variable input parameters to randomly generate a simulated starry sky effect, forming a multi-layered dreamy dynamic effect of rhythm, brightness, and density.

The east square of the exhibition center displays nine light and shadow art installations created by domestic and foreign artists, emphasizing interactivity and art sensation, using energy-saving lights to present unique light and shadow art images. Among these, "Shang 'High' Dreams" combines 10 beautiful colored spheres, turning the square into an ocean of twinkling dandelions. When people blow, they will light up and change. The artwork symbolizes the power of hope and dreams that festival organizers want to convey to everyone.

"Everybody has dreams in their life, everybody is working hard and focusing on different stuff, and we forget about our dreams. We invite everyone to focus on their dreams, and then come here, and try to make their dream come true," explained Laurent Brun, the French designer behind the work.

"You close your eyes as you are a little child and you focus on your dream, and your wish will come true," he added.

"We are here for the first time, and we are very proud to be invited."

Across the city, light music concerts, music pop-ups, and immersive digital light and shadow dramas such as "City of Light" are all scheduled.

A giant naked-eye 3D architectural projection show called "Chrono-Light Memories" will take place at the Grain Silo Art Center in the Pudong New Area.

"Traveling Through Light Years · Sanxingdui Fantasy Carnival" provides a series of activities in Jing'an District, and Fengxian District's "Magical Forest" Architectural Projection Show should also wow visitors.

How to get involved?

The main venue of the festival is open to tourists from home and abroad for free. To ensure the comfort and experience of the audience, a real-name reservation system is adopted.

People can log onto Damai app, search for Shanghai International Light Festival "上海國際光影節" for the ticketing page, and reservations will start at 12pm and 4pm respectively on Thursday, with limited tickets available.

Free observation coupons will also be distributed in shopping malls, tourist attractions, cultural venues, and catering places across the city.

Some tips:

To have fun throughout the festival, you can follow the official accounts of the Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival on WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Kuaishou. You can also customize your check-in plans through the "Shencheng Light and Shadow" (申城光影) WeChat mini program. The panoramic light and shadow map marks 119 night view check-in points and the "city walk" check-in routes of Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, and each sub-venue.