Xuhui Tunes in to May Day Holiday With Jazz Festival and More
Xuhui District will host the 2026 Jazz Spring from April 30 to May 5, bringing one of China's best-known jazz festivals back for the May Day holiday.
The festival features two themed sections, West Band Breeze and Brazilian Town, covering the Xuhui riverside and the Hengfu (Hengshan-Fuxing Road) Historical Conservation Zone. More than 150 top musicians from around the world will deliver over 100 performances.
Events will take place at the West Bund Theater, the Gate M West Bund Dream Center, the West Bund Waterfront and No. 8 Hengshan Road.
The West Bund Theater will host nightly master concerts featuring renowned artists, including Brazilian music icon Ivan Lins, harp virtuoso Edmar Castañeda and jazz piano legend Kenny Barron. Outdoor stages at the Gate M West Bund Dream Center's theater square and waterfront platform, as well as free live shows and band parades along the riverfront, will run continuously.
Special stages will pair musical performances with the ongoing Shanghai International Flower Show, creating a mixed music-and-flora atmosphere.
A vintage jazz bus, tickets priced at 5 yuan (73 US cents) per seat, will travel along the riverside, with station display boards highlighting key moments in jazz history and the industrial heritage transformation of the Xuhui riverside.
The Brazilian Town section, located at No. 8 Hengshan Road and the surrounding JZ Club block, will create a fusion scene of Brazilian style and Chinese culture, offering vinyl record markets, coffee experiences, samba dance shows and jazz master classes. The plane-tree-lined urban blocks will host authentic Latin carnival celebrations.
