It's another packed weekend in Shanghai - especially for Christmas-themed events. Read on for our round-up of this weekend's festive markets and more
Saturday 5-Sunday 6
Hubin Dao Shopping Centre
The fifth Grand Bazaar from the Kick The Gong Around team, this Winter Festival, named Tales From The Palace, will be anything but your average Christmas market. There will be plenty of Shanghai's favourite brands at the event, including Young Chinese Blood, Charles Philip, Okra, Awu, Les Petites Shanghaiennes, Jonas Design and Cob Originals.
But as ever with KTGA events, expect a fully immersive experience including music, food, an ice market, cinema screenings and performances. There will also be talks, demonstrations and workshops, including traditional Chinese fan making, tarot card reading, nutrition and fitness workshops and architecture talks.
This weekend's event will be in an as-yet-unopened section of the new Hubin Dao shopping mall near Xintiandi. The after-party will continue the fun at Le Baron.
Friday 4-Sunday 6
Paulaner Fenyang Lu branch
A Christmas tradition in Shanghai, the three-day Paulaner Christkindlmarkt brings all manner of festive gifts and food to Xuhui, in a traditional German-style market. Kicking off on Friday, the ninth annual market will host 70 seasonally decorated wooden huts, plus plenty of German Glühwein, hot food and snacks, and a new 'Candy Huts' corner, selling Belgian waffles, crepes and sweet treats.
This is always one of our top choices for Christmas gifts, greeting cards, ornaments, wreaths and decorations. A perfect market to stop by with all the family for a more traditional German Christmas experience. Be warned though - it gets extremely busy, so get there earlier rather than later.
Until Sunday 27 December
Xuhui Riverside
Brought to you by the same people who presented the overpriced and not very good German Christmas Market last year, this Middle Ages-themed market, or 'town', is actually an improvement on 2014's offering. There's a range of stalls selling all sorts of trinkets, food and drink, plus the site of people handing out candy floss dressed in chainmail (how Christmassy!) - it's worth a look, especially at night when all the lights are on.
Friday 4-Saturday 5
The Pearl Theatre
For something entirely different, stop by The Pearl Theatre in Hongkou for a little Christmas naughtiness. This year, they're putting on a Christmas cabaret special - offering striptease, acrobatics, comedy, drag, and song.
Promising to feature some of the best of the Shanghai professional cabaret scene, plus guest appearances from the Shanghai School of Burlesque, this might be one to leave the kids at home for.
Get full details on all of these events by clicking 'Read more' below
