16 fantastic things to do in June
The best of the month
This is your guide to the best events, things to do and places to eat and drink in Shanghai this June, including film, music and fringe festivals, the return of Shanghai Pride and much more.
Xintiandi's Fringe Fest
Shanghai is to get its own take on Edinburgh's world-renowned Fringe Festival this month, with the hosting of the 2016 Xintiandi Fringe Festival. British, American, Spanish, French, Australian, Taiwanese and Czech arts troupes will be putting on productions in and around Xintiandi across a period of two weeks - in restaurants, public areas and in a specially erected 'theatre' beside Taiping lake - with most of the shows free for the public.
Xintiandi Fringe Festival is held from Monday 6 to Sunday 19.
Go dragon boating
It's the month of the Dragon Boat Festival - a day of eating sticky rice dumplings, drinking realgar wine (a mix of huangjiu and realgar minerals) and, of course, racing dragon-shaped boats. Traditionally, dragon boat competitions in Shanghai take place on Suzhou Creek. This year, racing will take place at 2-4pm on Thursday 9 and 9am-3pm on Friday 10 (times subject to change).
Stay tuned to our website for more details on the Shanghai dragon boat competition.
Alpine Decline
Beijing-based Alpine Decline’s new album Life’s a Gasp, their fifth, is not exactly music to swig margaritas to. A stark cocktail of metallic guitar drone, rattling Jesus and Mary Chainesque atmosphere and windswept, Suicide-laced melody, it’s their most bleak but expansive album so far.
Alpine Decline are at Yuyintang on Friday 10 at 9pm for their album release party. Tickets are 80RMB. The duo perform a modular set at The Shelter on Tuesday 7 at 10pm. Tickets are 30RMB.
Lots of balloons
Fresh from wowing crowds with his spectacular installation work in London’s Covent Garden, renowned French photographer Charles Pétillon is in Shanghai, displaying his art in China for the first time. Whilst viewing Pétillon’s exceptional photography, visitors are invited to wander amongst a unique and extravagant balloon installation, created on site for the exhibition.
Invasions is at MD Gallery from 14 May to 19 June (except Mondays). Entry is free.
MIDI Festival
Midi's electronic festival returns to the outskirts of Suzhou for 2016 promising 48 hours of non-stop music from international and Shanghai-based DJs and producers. Ellen Allien is headlining, with the Shanghai Restoration Project also on the bill. Conrank, Lindberg and James Lealand are among the acts heading over from Shanghai, while Sulumi makes the trip down from Beijing.
MIDI Electronic Festival is at Taihu Midi Camp from Thursday 9 to Sunday 11. Tickets are 100-300RMB (additional 80RMB for a round-trip bus ticket).
DJ Krush
Hideaki Ishi, aka DJ Krush, has gone from involvement in Japan’s criminal underworld as a teen to being one of the country’s most celebrated musical exports at the age of 53. Known for his jazzy and experimental hip hop beats, Krush has collaborated with the likes of DJ Shadow and The Roots, and last year released The Butterfly Effect, his first album in over a decade. He returns to Shanghai to pack out Arkham.
DJ Krush is at Arkham on Friday 10 at 10pm. Tickets are 200RMB.
Raw Eatery & Grill
Taking over the second storey of the building formerly home to La Stazione, this newcomer is keeping things simple by focusing on fresh ingredients prepared or cooked in a way that best preserves their natural flavour. The result is honest and hearty food, and dishes that are easy to enjoy. Try their beef tartare (128RMB), it is soft, rich and smooth, offset by the hint of smokiness from the egg.
Raw Eatery and Wood Grill is at 98 Yanping Lu, near Xinzha Lu, Jingan district.
Stargaze at SIFF
Sir Ian McKellen is to headline the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), attending the opening ceremony and adding another high-profile name to the list of celebrities who have graced the Shanghai red carpet.
In this year's silver screen splendour, SIFF will present ‘Shakespeare on Film’, together with the British Film Institute and British Council, showing classic British adaptations of Shakespeare’s works on the big screen over 100 years, plus a series screening classic 007 films from the last 40 years. Also look out for Hollywood hits such as Steve Jobs, The Danish Girl,Room, Bridge of Spies and Joy, and the awards ceremony, with categories including Asian New Talent.
SIFF is held from Saturday 11 to Sunday 19.
Disneyland
Finally, the wait is over. Shanghai Disneyland will officially open its doors to visitors from Thursday 16 June. You can start preparing for your visit by watching some vintage Disney cartoons on Youku, or read about what early visitors think of the place or check out Disneytown first - all that, and much more, is on our website.
Be an Omnivore
The Omnivore World Tour is a global festival bringing together the best international chefs with those from the host country. The three-day event is all about sharing cuisines, learning new techniques and creating a vibrant atmosphere focusing on life’s best thing, food. Sit in on a masterclass and hear chefs explain their cooking secrets, kick back at a pop up dinner and sample dishes from two or more chefs, or head to the Omnivorious Party for a sample of bites from participating chefs, and perhaps even snap a cheeky selfie.
Omnivore Pop-up dinners are held at Three on the Bund on Thursday 16 and Friday 17. Tickets are 600RMB (five courses with matching wine).
Omnivore Masterclasses are held at Three on the Bund on Friday 17 and Saturday 18. Free with RSVP.
The Omnivorious by Badoit party is held at Three on the Bund on Saturday 18 at 8.30pm. Tickets are 200RMB.
ShanghaiPRIDE
ShanghaiPRIDE, China's only gay pride festival, returns for its eighth year and it is coming back bigger than ever. This year features the theme 'I Am Me', championing rights for the LGBT community to proudly lead their lives as 'normally' as everyone else. Look forward to ten days of cultural, social and educational events aimed at creating awareness and promoting tolerance and acceptance of the LGBT community in Shanghai.
ShanghaiPRIDE is held from Friday 17 to Sunday 26.
Zion Train and Vibronics
This month, Shanghai gets a dose of roots reggae in the form of two UK dub heavyweights: Zion Train and Vibronics. The former, a collective founded in Oxford in 1988, went on to inspire a whole tributary of currently trending dance music genres, including, of course, dubstep. The latter, formed in 1995 with founder Steve Vibronics at the centre, signed to Zion Train’s label early in their career and have subsequently maxed out subwoofers at music festivals around the world with their self-proclaimed ‘future sound of dub’.
Zion Train and Vibronics are at The Shelter on Saturday 18 at 10pm. Tickets are 80RMB.
Life on the borders
Eleven artists share their experiences from distinct regional cultures in Asia. The Tell Me a Story: Locality and Narrative exhibition includes eight photographs capturing the eerie history of the uninhabited Japanese island of Sakhalin, which was seized by Soviet forces following World War II, and also stops off in Shanghai, exploring the unstable existence of migrant workers anchored to the banks of the Huangpu River.
Tell Me a Story: Locality and Narrative is at the Rockbund Art Museum from May 28 until August 14.
Lambchop
Lambchop have been crafting glorious alt-country albums for three decades now. While the sound has always been distinctly Lambchop – identifiable by Kurt Wagner’s wry lyrics, delivered alternately in a low rumbling growl and a crisp falsetto – over the course of 11 studio albums the band have dipped into everything from sweeping pop and R&B rhythms. Fans here can expect a mix of old and new tracks when Lambchop make their Shanghai debut as part of Split Works and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s Contemporale series this month.
Lambchop are at the SSO Hall on Sunday 19 at 7.45pm. Tickets are sold out.
The Royal Danish Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet (RDB) is an outstanding company by any measure but the biggest complaint about RDB is that they don’t tour enough, so don’t miss this rare presentation of two of their most famous works, the hauntingLa Sylphide and the vivacious Napoli, as well as a bonus piece, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.
The Royal Danish Ballet is at Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre on Thursday 23-Friday 24 (Napoli), and Saturday 25-Sunday 26 (La Sylphide, Theme and Variations); all shows are at 7.15pm. Tickets are 80-1,280RMB.
Sniff out love
Have you ever wished you could smell the stale sweat of your Tinder matches before that heavily anticipated first date? Chronus Art Center (CAC) has teamed up with Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne to offer a solution to that exact desire. In a social experiment examining ancient cues of attraction, Smell Dating Shanghai invites you to trust your sensory cells and choose dates based entirely on the scent of strangers. Sign ups for Smell Dating Shanghai take place from now until June 8 at www.smell.dating/cn. Read our blog for more details.
The Sweat Lab is at Chronus Art Centre on June 25.
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