There is no better place to experience the strongest Spring Festival flavor than in the suburbs where the festival is celebrated in a grand and boisterous way.
With UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) inscribing China's Spring Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the upcoming celebration in 2025 will officially usher in the first "intangible cultural heritage-version Spring Festival."
In Shanghai's suburbs, there are plenty of options to experience traditional Chinese Spring Festival customs and culture. Stay tuned!
A touch of the lion in Qingpu laochengxiang (old town) area.
Folk Cultural Activities and Lantern Fair
The 2025 "Qingpu Old Town • The Most Jiangnan Style" Cultural Tourism and Consumption Festival and Spring Festival themed activities have been launched in laochengxiang, or old town, in Yingpu subdistrict, featuring a range of folk cultural activities and a Spring Festival bazaar.
Writing the Chinese character fu (福), which has the meaning of fortune, is a Spring Festival tradition in China. The tradition will be replicated, and Spring Festival couplets will be written and delivered on-site.
Inheritors of intangible culture such as Jiangnan (south of the lower part of Yangtze River) crochet knitting, traditional steamed rice cakes, and paper-cutting show off their techniques with nimble fingers.
Writing auspicious Chinese characters is a traditional way of celebration.
There will be waist drum performances and traditional Chinese operas such as Shaoxing Opera, Yueju Opera and Peking Opera.
People can also try their hand at Jiuzi, referring to the "nine games" played in Shanghai's old lanes some 50 years ago, which include playing marbles, rolling hoops, hopscotch and rubber band skipping, to relive the alleyway games of childhood.
There will also be guqin (a plucked seven-string musical instrument) performance.
Activities such as "Good Fortune" ring toss activities will fill the venue with laughter, while White Rabbit milk candies, and New Year balloons take visitors to their childhood.
At night, the Qushui Garden, one of the five classic gardens in Shanghai, will be lit up.
A grand celebration at Qushui Garden.
If you go:
Venue: Qushui Garden, Qiaoziwan Square
Address: 612 Gongyuan Road, 666 Gongyuan Road, Qingpu District 青浦区公园路612号, 666号
Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is lit up.
Spring Festival Parade and Exhibition
If you are looking for something traditional and festive, visit Zhujiajiao Water Town during the holiday.
A series of festive activities will be rolled out in the ancient town, featuring dragon dances with traditional Jiangnan sizhu (string and wind music).
There are also auspicious lion dances with fortune blessings, the "God of Wealth" parade, and an intangible cultural heritage bazaar themed on the Year of the Snake.
Moreover, the World Lighthouse Stamp Exhibition has opened at Qing Post Office, a signature attraction of Zhujiajiao, displaying 28 types of 155 stamps from around the world.
Red lanterns bear people's good wishes for 2025.
It features lighthouses from ancient wooden structures to modern automated ones, from unique domestic lighthouses to classical European styles.
The exhibition presents the diverse appearances of lighthouses in different periods and regions.
Each stamp features a lifelike lighthouse, either standing by the stormy sea or radiating a gentle glow in a tranquil harbor.
The Zhujiajiao Qing Post Office was established in 1903 and is the only surviving site of an imperial post office in East China.
The festive flavor lingers in the old town.
If you go
Venue: Zhujiajiao Ancient Town
Address: 555 Kezhiyuan Rd 课植园路555号
A fish lantern parade in Guyi Garden.
Encounter with China's 12 Huashen (flower goddesses) and Riddle Guessing
Guyi Garden, a symbol of classical Chinese garden artistry, is cooking up a feast of intangible cultural heritage with China's 12 huashen (flower goddesses) taking the spotlight.
When you step into the Jiangnan-style garden, it is like embarking on a journey through time.
The Twelve Flower Deities will pluck silk strings, recite poetry, or dance, performing with floral instruments and creating a rhythm steeped in ancient charm.
Some of the lanterns in Guyi Garden.
The garden uses traditional five main musical notes used in ancient Chinese music – gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu to connect five major areas, blending auspicious elements, birds and flowers with the joyous New Year atmosphere, accompanied by the dazzling lights of colorful lanterns.
Giant fish lanterns bear beautiful wishes for the New Year.
During the holiday, a grand garden party will be staged, featuring lantern riddle guessing, dragon and lion dances, interactive cultural experiences, Jiangnan sizhu (string and wind music) performance, and shadow play shows.
At night, the garden will be illuminated with lanterns, offering a picturesque stroll.
Calligraphy activity in Guyi Garden.
If you go
Venue: Guyi Garden
Address: 218 Huyi Highway 嘉定区沪宜公路218号
A girl rolls an art installation at Life Hub@Anting of Shanghai International Automobile City.
Intangible Cultural Heritage Feast and Nianhuo (Spring Festival goods) Bazaar
A feast of China's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is being presented at Shanghai International Automobile City, immersing visitors in the flavors of the Jiangnan New Year and the essence of ICH.
A series of Chinese New Year ICH activities, including a New Year's goods fair, bazaar, Year of the Snake art installations, and Jiangnan Spring Festival performances has been launched.
Through February 12, the Jiangnan Spring Goods Fair and the Wansi Market Spring Fair create a bustling scene. The former brings the rich local flavor and authentic New Year's atmosphere of Jiangnan, together with the Year of the Snake stamp collection activity.
An intangible cultural heritage bazaar attracts visitors.
At Wansi Market, people are able to experience traditional techniques such as sugar painting and dough figurines, as well as Spring Festival paper-cutting and couplets, fully enjoying the Jiangnan New Year's customs and flavors.
A series of art installations are showcased, inspired by Chinese characters and themed around the Year of the Snake.
The installations also incorporate a large number of culturally distinctive ethnic elements and Jiading's national-level ICH, bamboo carving art, showcasing the rich Chinese New Year's atmosphere and Jiading's unique regional ICH culture.
The image of the snake is abstracted and transformed, combined with pink auspicious clouds. The snake's body is mainly in bamboo color, and its open mouth contains Jiading's local bamboo carving patterns.
Through the holiday, ancient magic tricks, Jiangnan folk music, and Shanghai Sanlin dragon and lion dances will be performed.
A wall of wishes attracts children.
If you go:
Vneue: Life Hub@Anting, Shanghai International Automobile City
Address: 1055 Moyu Rd S., Anting Town 安亭镇墨玉南路1055号
Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden presents a floral landscape.
Spring Flower Exhibition
Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden has been turned into a sea of flowers as it ushers in the festival with a spring flower exhibition.
Peonies and alpine azaleas are the main flowers, surrounding traditional Chinese Spring Festival elements.
The flower exhibition is themed around the "serpent," with four major exhibition areas.
One of the main areas will display 35 varieties of yellow and black peonies, along with other colored peonies.
Peonies are in full bloom.
In addition to peonies, uniquely shaped and multi-layered tropical flowers such as lantana and hibiscus have been selected to complement the peonies, creating a distinctive and vibrant style.
Another area showcases peonies planted in small groups within the terrace in a natural style that integrates with the quarry environment, presenting a beautiful winter garden.
Azaleas are showcased via the form of an oriental aesthetic scroll.
At the same time, the greenhouse features popular New Year's flowers such as various orchids and amaryllis, and large red lanterns will be hung and the Year of the Snake window decorations will be adorned at the garden.
Visitors take photos amid a floral background.
If you go:
Venue: Chenshan Botanical Garden
Address: 3888 Chenhua Highway, Songjiang District 松江区辰花公路3888号
Fish lanterns are on display in Nanxiang Ancient Town.
Lantern Fair
The ancient town of Nanxiang has already been enveloped in a joyful atmosphere. This year's snake themed lantern exhibition will deliver delightful surprises for visitors.
At the Shuangta Pagoda in Nanxiang, a set of vivid snake-shaped lanterns has been installed, incorporating unique designs featuring Nanxiang xiaolong (steamed buns), symbolizing prosperity in the coming year.
At the entrance of Jiefang Street, the archway lantern installation resembles a cascade of starlight, with various koi-shaped lanterns connected end-to-end in the air, swaying gracefully and creating a lively scene of koi chasing each other.
A traditional Chinese opera performance in Nanxiang.
This year's lantern decorations, including koi fish, traditional round lanterns, Nanxiang steamed buns, and crane light projections all highlight the guochao (China-chic) characteristics.
The vibrant and beautiful Spring Festival lantern show has created a strong traditional Chinese atmosphere for Nanxiang. To welcome the Spring Festival, Nanxiang Ancient Town has also launched an artificial snowfall event, allowing visitors to experience the romantic scene of "heavy snow" in the Jiangnan water town.
A wall of lanterns.
If you go:
Venue: Nanxiang Ancient Town
Address: 206 Jiefang Street, Jiading District嘉定区解放街206号