Cheers to city's wine and spirits festival

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: People enjoy a wine and spirits bazaar outside the Hall of the Sun mall in Hongkou over the weekend.

If you go:

Event: Shanghai Wine & Spirits Festival

Date: Through mid-August

Venue: The Hall of the Sun 太阳宫

Address: 181 Ruihong Road, Hongkou District

Admission: Free

How to get there: Linping Road Station, Metro Line 4

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: A visitor checks the products at the stall of the French wine brand Cavesmaître.

Wines, music and performances are taking center stage at a downtown mall in Hongkou as part of the city's annual wine festival over the weekend.

Themed on "The World of Wine, the Wine of the World," the 18th Shanghai Wine & Spirits Festival was launched on Saturday night at the Hall of the Sun, one of Shanghai's biggest commercial complexes near the North Bund waterfront.

This year's event features music, culture, street dance and local delicacies to boost the city's nightlife economy, promote wine culture and offer entertainment for the ongoing Double Five Shopping Festival, said the commerce commission of Hongkou.

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: Music and dance performances.

Visitors are invited to sample more than 100 famous wine and liquor brands from both home and abroad, such as the Kweichow Moutai, Wuliangye, Gujinggong Liquor and Tsingda Beer as well as Cavesmaître from France and other world's famous wines and liquors.

A music and wine carnival hosted by the Tsingdao beer and a Chinoiserie-style wine party themed on the popular Chinese folktale "The Legend of the White Snake," will be held along with other events and bazaars during the three-month festival.

The annual festival, jointly hosted by the Shanghai Commerce Commission and the Hongkou District government, has been held for 17 years, attracting thousands of wine brands from more than 50 countries and regions.