Shanghai blends shopping with cultural themes to boost winter spending

Shanghai's shopping hubs have blended retail with cultural experience this winter, attracting consumers with themed markets, live performances, and art exhibitions to boost spending.

At the start of 2026, many commercial districts in Shanghai enhanced consumer experience and stimulated spending enthusiasm through diverse celebratory activities, turning them into immersive seasonal destinations.

Even on weekdays, the East Market Bonfire Fair and Panlong Water Market at Panlong Tiandi still draw large crowds.

"Such a stylish and lovely place. I come here for a walk every day," said a resident.

"It's more modern and fresh. There are these integrated stores here that kind of break away from the traditional look and feel," said another.

Consumption incentives such as complimentary cultural and creative gifts upon reaching specified spending thresholds and discounts at designated stores have been introduced here. At the same time, the commercial district is committed to preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage.

The district rolled out consumption incentives, including complimentary cultural gifts for shoppers meeting spending thresholds and discounts at designated stores. Last month, it drew 1.85 million visitors and generated 74 million yuan (about 10.6 million U.S. dollars) in sales.

"It's a great experience for the kid. Since he grew up in Germany, this is quite a novel experience for him," said a visitor.

"I've been selling sugar art at this water market for two and a half years now. Our business has been really good. For us, it's not just about running a business. We're also keeping a tradition alive," said the owner of a sugar painting stall.

Similarly, Xintiandi, a major commercial hub in central Shanghai, also launched new winter cultural tourism offerings to boost consumption. About 30 aurora light shows and over 40 roaming street performances are scheduled to be held here, lasting from day to night for nearly a month.

"We have worked with four different artists. They have different illustrations to tell people the story of Dongtai Road going back to 60 years ago. Every year, we organize four to six different markets, three of which are flower-themed," said Clarence Lee, senior commercial director of Shui On Xintiandi, a commercial property investor and manager.

"There are some cosmetic counters opened here, and they offer spa services. I think this is a really great gift option for the Spring Festival," said a visitor.

Xintiandi, meanwhile, has been staging its own celebration with a Winter Wonderlust Market and 15 live performances, offering visitors a rich multi-sensory experience.

"It's a good mixture between European architecture [and] Chinese one, and also I really like now to see it with the lights during the night. People from Shanghai are very nice and very relaxed during the day, but also during the night," said Davide, a visitor from Italy.

To stimulate retail and tourism consumption, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said that it will allocate more than 90 million yuan (about 12.89 million U.S. dollars) in fiscal funds to 12 key districts during the New Year and Spring Festival, including Lujiazui, West Nanjing Road, Xujiahui and Wujiaochang.

The support will include vouchers, spend-and-save promotions, and prize-draw activities.

Shanghai blends shopping with cultural themes to boost winter spending

Shanghai blends shopping with cultural themes to boost winter spending

Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, who wrapped up his five-day official visit to China, has praised China's progress in areas such as digital economy and green energy, saying Ireland is willing to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China in emerging sectors while enhancing cooperation on multilateral affairs.

It is Martin's first visit to China since taking office and the first by an Irish prime minister in 14 years.

Speaking during a joint interview with Chinese media outlets in Beijing, Martin spoke positively of the steady development of bilateral relations in recent years, highlighting closer people-to-people exchanges and growing ties in higher education.

"We now have a direct flight between Dublin and China and that's very important in terms of people to people. Our education links are very strong and we have many partnerships between Irish higher education institutions and Chinese higher education institutions and that's important," he said.

Martin said economic and trade ties remain a key pillar underpinning the sound development of bilateral relations.

He recalled that bilateral trade has seen exponential growth since his first visit to China 20 years ago, when he served as minister for enterprise, trade and employment.

Looking ahead, he expressed expectations for expanded cooperation with China in such emerging fields as digital economy and green transition.

"We will be embarking on a major investment in offshore renewables over the next decade. We already are in the planning process. It's a windy island, so we have a lot of wind to harness for energy. So we do see opportunities in AI as well. Ireland is a very strong location for investment, as a member of the European Union, the only English-speaking country now in the Eurozone and in the European Union. And it's a good access point to the European consumer market. We believe there's a greater opportunity for Chinese companies to locate in Ireland," he said.

As Ireland is set to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of 2026, Martin said Ireland adopts a pragmatic policy towards China within the EU and stays committed to promoting a EU-China relationship framework that effectively manages differences while expanding mutually beneficial cooperation.

"What is important is that we continue to dialogue and see can we develop frameworks of agreement on the big picture. The WTO is also very important forum for resolving trade issues. Both Europe and China would acknowledge that industrial resilience, economic security issues are important issues, but that has to be balanced with an open free trade environment. So we are against tariffs. We think tariffs are ultimately damaging to the world economy," he said.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Martin paid an official visit to China from Jan 4 to 8. In addition to Beijing, he also visited Shanghai.

Irish Taoiseach sees broader cooperation with China in emerging sectors