Wujiaochang celebrates with running, dancing, shopping
Over 500 runners dressed in reflective vests jog around the Jiangwan Stadium to celebrate the arrival of 2020.
Local young people celebrated the coming of 2020 at the Wujiaochang commercial hub with running, dancing and shopping events.
The celebration kicked off on Tuesday evening with a lighting ceremony at the landmark site's popular shopping complexes.
Organized by the Wujiaochang Subdistrict, the event also marks the beginning of a series of sports and cultural events in the area to boost the local nightlife economy.
As part of New Year's celebrations, students from 60 local universities took part in a dancing competition at the Wujiaochang commercial plaza. After midnight, over 500 runners dressed in reflective vests jogged for 3 kilometers around the historic Jiangwan Stadium to celebrate the arrival of 2020.
The stadium was built by the then Kuomintang government in 1935. Wujiaochang was expected to form part of a new city center, along with government buildings, a museum, a library, a hospital and TV and radio stations. The stadium is still in use today.
Shopping malls at Wujiaochang, such as the Wanda Plaza, Bailian Youyicheng and Hopson One, offered discounts and hosted performances after midnight.
Runners visit a bazaar in the Wujiaochang area as part of New Year's celebrations.
Wujiaochang, in northeast downtown Shanghai, has over 700,000 square meters of shopping complexes. The hub attracts over 300,000 people every day with nearly 2,000 stores and 800 brands from both home and abroad. It creates nearly 15 billion yuan (US$2.15 billion) in retail sales every year.
Additional events, such as culture festivals, fashion festivals, new product releases and electronic sports, will be held in Wujiaochang plaza as well as the nearby Knowledge and Innovation Community and Daxue Road.
Most of the events will be held at night to attract students from nearby universities and startup firms, according to the district government.
Shoppers wait in lines to take part in various shopping events at a shopping mall in Wujiaochang.
