The best things to do in Shanghai this week
Unsplash: Beth Teutschmann
Halloween party season is upon us and we have you covered if you haven't got your costume sorted yet. However, if the thought of dressing up and trick or treating scares you, fear not, there are still plenty of other great things to do this week.
Halloween
Shanghai's best Halloween parties 2017
When you're done sinking your fangs into all the candy, and you're dressed-up as something genuinely ghoulish, it's time to get your freak on. Click here for a run down of the best Halloween parties this year.
Charity Public Halloween Ghost Tour
Shanghai has a rich record of murderous gangsters and fatal accidents that, as legend tells us, has left behind many spirits wandering certain haunts around the city. This two-hour walking tour by Newman tours takes you through some of the places of note from a rougher time in Shanghai's history.
Meet at Jingan Temple Station Exit 1. Fri 27. 7pm. 260RMB (adults); 190RMB (children under 14).
Food and Drink
Cocktail master class
Get involved and learn to make some new cocktails with bartender Hannah Keirl, who has ten years experience in international bar scenes from Spain to Australia to India. This fun master class will include an introduction to cocktails and you'll learn to make three drinks.
Pierogi Ladies No 10, Lane 273, Jiaozhou Lu. Sat 28. 4pm. 175RMB.
Shanghai Oktoberfest 2017
Dig out your lederhosen or your dirndl and head to this massive festival tent and street party near the Rockbund for awesome Bavarian food, live music, and of course, loads of free-flowing beer for a raucous Shanghai-style celebration of the world's most iconic autumn event.
Yuanmingyuan Lu, near Beijing Dong Lu. Thu 26-Sat 28. Free.
Music and Nightlife
Metal Karaoke: Black Sabbath
Forget Halloween festivities, this metal spin on KTV is really just devil worship business as usual for everyone's favourite Shanghai metal den Inferno. 'Cool prizes' are apparently on offer as well as happy hour for anyone with the guts to get up and belt out a bit of Sabbath on stage.
Inferno Unit 6-103, Ground Floor, 658 Longhua Dong Lu, near Kaiping Lu. Fri 27. 9pm. Free.
Lena Willikens
Sure, there might be a load of lost souls staggering around in odd costumes outside of ALL this weekend, but that's just the standard Perry's clientele (ba dum tis). Inside on Friday night you'll find insatiable record digger and a one-of-a-kind DJ Lena Willikens, whose surprising sets dip into disco, raw house, new wave, techno and obscure, trippy rarities. Illsee and Ginga provide support.
ALL Second Floor, 17 Xiangyang Bei Lu, near Changle Lu. Fri 27. 10pm. Entry tbc.
Tomahawk
One of China’s first heavy metal bands – formed in 1992 – Tomahawk come to town at the tail end of their latest nationwide tour.
Modern Sky Lab Third Floor, Ruihong Tiandi, 188 Ruihong Lu. Sun 29. 8pm. Entry tbc.
Things to do
Commune Market
This October the Commune Market returns to naked HUB, offering goers a chance to snatch up some eye catching designs from local artisans, painters and jewellery makers.
naked HUB (Loushanguan Lu) 35 Loushanguan Lu, near Xingyi Lu. Sat 28-29. 11am. Free.
Dwight Yorke and Nemanja Vidic meet and greet
Manchester United legends Dwight Yorke and Nemanja Vidic will be at The Camel this Thursday for a meet and greet. Boasting a host of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles between them, this is a don't miss opportunity for any United fan.
The Camel 1 Yueyang Lu, near Dongping Lu. Thu 26. 1pm. Free.
Film
Blade Runner 2049
Arrival director Denis Villeneuve pulls off the dare of the decade, hatching a thoughtful, expansive sequel to a sci-fi classic. At well over two-and-a-half hours, the movie impresses (and oppresses) with its mood: sometimes it’s an orgy of neon-colored street life; elsewhere it’s an existential thumb-sucker that Russia’s Andrei Tarkovsky would have been proud to sign; and always, it’s in thrall to the stylishly downbeat vision that Ridley Scott hatched back in 1982.
On general release from Thu 26.
When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, the Kingsman's journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy.
On general release. Long press and extract the QR code to book tickets.
The Foreigner
In this action-thriller, grieving father Quan’s (Jackie Chan) relentless quest for his daughter’s killers sees him in a game of cat and mouse with a British government official Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), whose own murky past may hold the answers Quan is chasing.
On general release.
Art
Hello, My Name is Paul Smith
Hello, My Name is Paul Smith is a touring exhibition showcasing the fashion designer's journey in building his company, as well as his stylistic tastes and eye for design. It combines the artistic and the business aspects of running a fashion brand and gives the audience a glimpse into the designer's world, helping people understand the interactions between operating within an industry as a business and within the fashion world as a designer and artist.
Modern Art Museum 4777 Binjiang Avenue, near Pudian Lu. Until Jan 7. 100RMB; 50RMB (early-bird). Long press and extract the QR code to book tickets.
Antony Gormley: Still Moving
The Long Museum presents British artist Antony Gormley's first major exhibition in China. The exhibition features Antony's three installation pieces: 'Critical Mass (II)' (1995), 'Breathing Room' (2012), and 'Passage II' (2017); four suspended sculptural works (2008-2012); and a variety of works on paper (1981-2016).
Long Museum West Bund 3398 Longteng Avenue, near Ruining Lu. Until Nov 26. 100RMB.