Winter festival kicks off on North Bund waterfront
Shanghai International Winter Festival, which runs through February 20 at 501 Dongdaming Road in Hongkou District features a heart-shape outdoor skating rink.
Shanghai's first international winter festival began on Monday 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, 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 year of 2020 along with those on the Bund 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 ice-themed flashmobs around the rink through February. Former athletes and representatives from the host cities of previous winter Olympics will also offer performances and lectures on the winter games.
A child takes part in skating games on the new rink on the North Bund waterfront.
Heritage skills masters from the city's Yuyuan Garden will make traditional yuanxiao dumplings and artworks for the Lantern Festival, which falls 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.
Local couples are encouraged to take selfies between February 12 and 18 on the waterfront for Valentine's Day. The best couples will be selected to 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 surpasses the 250-meter Shimao International Plaza to become Puxi’s tallest construction. However, that distinction won’t last long. Construction is underway on two skyscrapers in Puxi that will surpass the height of the plaza.
The plaza cooperated with the German Advanced Sporting Technology after the 2nd China International Import Expo in November to jointly develop the project, the organizer said.
It is also part of Shanghai’s efforts to boost it nightlife economy with additional cultural and sports attractions at night, according to the Hongkou government.
Visitors enjoy the newly unveiled skating rink on the North Bund waterfront on Monday.
