Shanghai Expo Culture Park hosts autumn festival to mark 1st anniversary

The Shanghai Expo Culture Park launched its autumn-themed festival series on Friday, celebrating the first anniversary of the park's full opening with a diverse array of cultural events scheduled to run through October.

The festival features music performances, traditional Chinese cultural activities, floral exhibitions, pet-friendly events, and nightlife entertainment at the park.

The opening event, "The Next Big Thing x ACE Live Music" concert, runs from Sept 19 to 21 at the lawn beneath the "twin-hills" where rock bands, pop musicians, and original performers will entertain audiences all afternoon and evening, enhanced by specialized lighting installations.

From Sept 23 to Oct 29, the Shenyuan Garden section will host events focused on traditional Chinese culture. Visitors wearing complete hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing) will receive free admission, with costume rental and styling services available on-site.

During the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, the garden will showcase traditional activities such as touhu (arrow throwing), shadow puppetry, and leaf carving exhibitions. Workshops on traditional crafts like rope making will also be offered.

The floral festival, scheduled for Oct 1-12, will beautify the park's world floral garden with 20,000 sunflowers. The exhibition includes an artistic installation in the core area, a sunflower maze, and creative flower markets.

Additionally, 25 floats from the Shanghai tourism festival parade will be displayed from Oct 1-6, with evening lighting shows beginning at 6:45 pm daily.

The park's greenhouse garden will host special butterfly release events from Oct 2-8, where selected visitors can participate in releasing butterflies during two daily sessions.

In parallel, the dog park will present a holiday carnival featuring a riverside market, camping areas, street performances, water sports competitions for pets, outdoor movie screenings, and traditional mooncake-making workshops for pet owners.

Evening entertainment will continue throughout October with the starlight party series on weekends, featuring live music, outdoor cinema, and night markets. A special traditional Chinese music festival will run from Oct 1-4.

To commemorate the anniversary, the park is introducing various promotional offers, including discounted evening admission to the greenhouse garden at 88 yuan ($12.37), down from 128 yuan, and special two-person tickets for Shenyuan Garden at 50 yuan.

Multiple vendors within the park are also offering anniversary promotions, including discounts on beverages, VR experiences, dining and retail purchases.