21 awesome things to do in Shanghai this week

Photograph: courtesy Funkadeli

The weather's not great, is it? We're at that point of the year where we're all experiencing that 'do-I-stick-with-my-light-jacket-or-is-it-time-to-bust-out-the-big-winter-coat?' dilemma. Well, weather and coat density aside, there is still plenty of reason to get out there this week and experience what Shanghai has to offer. Here are our picks for the days to come.

Food and Drink

Photograph: courtesy Restaurant Australia

Brenden Gradidge guest chefs at Mr Willis

Having headed restaurants like Esquire and Esq and worked alongside Australia's top chefs (including Brent Savage, Justin North and Kym Machin), Brenden Gradidge is taking his inventive cuisine to Mr Willis for three nights this November with a chef's menu that definitely won't disappoint. Reservations required.

📍 Mr Willis, Third Floor, 195 Anfu Lu, near Wulumuqi Lu. Thu 15-Sat 17. 6-10pm. 380RMB. Reservation required (5404 0200).

Black x Mozaic Chef's Table

Blackbird's executive chef Blake Thornley will be joined by long-time friend and founder of Balinese French restaurant Mozaic and SPICE in Bali, Chris Salans. The duo will present a sophisticated Southeast Asian tasting menu with 11 courses rooted in Indonesian and Guizhou ingredients executed with French techniques. 

📍 Columbia Circle, 1262 Yanan Xi Lu, near near Panyu Lu. Thu 15-Fri 16. 6-9pm; 9pm-late. 975RMB.

Philly Phresh Pop Up

Egg will be taking it back to the mid-'90s, slinging cheesesteaks, sweet and savoury pretzels and 'fish house' punch at their Philadephia street party.

📍 Egg, 12 Xiangyang Bei Lu, near Julu Lu. Thu 15-Fri 16. 7.30-10.30pm. Free.

THE HYVE Chef Trials

THE HYVE and DiningCity present a three-day chef cook off where four-star chefs battle it out for the title of Chefs Trial Champion. Watch the live-trials at the Jingan Kerry Center and try a different three-course menu on each day.

📍 Jingan Kerry Centre, 1515 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Changde Lu. Fri 16-Sun 18. 6-9pm. 199-569RMB.

One Year Anniversary of Ministry of Negroni

Funkadeli is celebrating their one year anniversary of Ministry of Negroni with a big bash featuring a cascade of negronis, a guest bartender and revelry. Four negroni cocktails will be featured on the night-three of which are variations by guest bartenders from previous Ministry events.

📍 Funkadeli, 291 Fumin Lu, near Donghu Lu. Thu 15. 7pm-1am. Free entry.

Wine Lips: Natural Wine Party

Much-loved Shanghai wine party Wine Lips is hitting up Beverly this Thursday for a night of fun wine, rooftop vibes and dance floor destruction with music from the China Social Club crew. Doubling as the official unofficial wine expo afterparty, this edition features amazing Aussie wines from L.A.S. Vino, Si Vintners and Old Jarvie as well as Chinese natural wine from Petit Garden, a local team of vignerons making wine up in Ningxia.

📍 Beverly, 20 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu. Thu 15. 7.30pm-midnight. 160RMB.

Ladies Who Drink - Drink & Art

Ladies Who Drink and IINNOO Gallery bring you Drink & Art, an evening of masterclasses and art appreciation. It's an opportunity to taste and learn the difference between cava, prosecco and Champagne. The dress code is 'stylish'. Booking is recommended.

📍 Bellagio, 188 Suzhou Bei Lu, near Zhapu Lu. Thu 15. 7-9pm. 280RMB; 220RMB (members).

Music and Nightlife

Photograph: Genevieve Medow Jenkins (Rhye)

Rhye

After a short Asia tour in the spring and sets at Coachella and Pitchfork festivals, Rhye – the solo project of Mike Milosh – hit Shanghai for a live showcase of synthy RnB pop. The then-duo's 2013 debut album Woman picked up a lot of press, including the hallowed 'Best New Music' tag from P'fork. Milosh went solo for the soft rock-ish follow up BLOOD, which garnered less praise, but his Mainland China debut still ought to get plenty of attention.

📍 Modern Sky Lab, Third Floor, Ruihong Tiandi, 188 Ruihong Lu, near Tianhong Lu. Tue 13. 9-10.30pm. 300-450RMB. Extract the QR code to purchase tickets. 

WR/OC Music Festival Shanghai

WR/OC host tatted-up rapper Machine Gun Kelly as part of their weekend-long festival with shows at Arkham and Modern Sky Lab. Who are WR/OC? Well, apparently they're 'a young label that believe in original spirits, fresh blood and hip hop.' On Friday, Arkham hosts J.I.D along with Ziv, Vroskiii, 阿克江Akin and a DJ set from Kin.J. Joining MGK at Modern Sky Lab on Saturday will be MC光光, 深蓝儿童 (Indigo Children), NINEONE#, YOUNG13DBABY, Young Poc, T.A.C.E., 沙皇40F, MAFI∀, and MC天天. Enter our competition to try and win a pair of tickets.

📍 Arkham, Found 158, 168 Julu Lu, near Chengdu Nan Lu. Fri 16. 9pm-late. 280RMB; 220RMB (presale).

📍 Modern Sky Lab, Third Floor, Ruihong Tiandi, 188 Ruihong Lu, near Tianhong Lu. Sat 17. 6pm-late. 680RMB; 600RMB (presale).

Changjiang Green Music Camp

The team behind all things JZ are taking over Changxing Island (next door to Chongming) for two days of music surrounded by greenery. Acts include Duck Fight Goose, Zhang Le and Wan Xiaoli with musical genres spanning everything from live electronic to folk and bluegrass.

📍 Orange Holiday Resort (Changxing Island). Sat 17-Sun 18. 10am-10pm. 220RMB (day tickets); 180RMB (presale); 320RMB (presale weekend pass).

DWP Festival

Celebrating its tenth anniversary in Indonesia this year (with The Weeknd headlining in Bali), DWP Festival makes a foray into China with this event out by Hongqiao Airport. No official details on the line-up just yet despite some tasty rumours.

📍 National Exhibition and Convention Center, 333 Songze Dadao, near Laigang Lu. Sat 17-Sun 18 Nov. 2pm-late. 1,380RMB (one-day GA), 2,380RMB (two-day GA). Extract the QR code to purchase tickets. 

Bar Rouge 14th anniversary

The iconic red rooftop bar on the Bund is celebrating 14 years of dance parties, world-class DJs, ladies nights and truly being a nightlife staple in the Shanghai scene. To celebrate, they're bringing out the sparklers, shimmer and Champagne showers for a disco party over two weekends. The celebrations start off with an opening ceremony on Friday 16.

📍 Bar Rouge, Seventh Floor, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu.  Fri 16. 10pm-late. 150RMB; 100RMB (presale).

Four Tet

Brilliant British producer Kieran Hebden, adored in electronic and indie music circles alike, makes his debut Mainland China appearance with two dates in November – one in Beijing and one right here in Shanghai.

📍 Modern Sky Lab, Third Floor, Ruihong Tiandi, 188 Ruihong Lu, near Tianhong Lu. Fri 16. 11pm-late. 300RMB; 220RMB (presale). Extract the QR code to book. 

Things to Do

Photograph: courtesy rawpixel via Unsplash

The Christmas Designer Market

Shanghai Creatives brings together a load of local and international designers, artists and artisans for its annual Christmas market. Think clothing, accessories, homeware, trinkets for kids and much more.

📍 Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Tongren Lu. Thu 15. 10am-5pm. Free.

Commune Book Swap

Commune Market and Yong Ping Lane are bringing you a book swap with English, Chinese, Japanese and children's books. Discover new titles, dive back into a classic, sip on coffee and enjoy pastries from Yong Ping Lane. A candle workshop will also be hosted on Sunday 18.

📍 Yong Ping Lane, 199 Hengshan Lu, near Yongjia Lu.  Sat 17-Sun 18. 11am-6pm. Free.

Comedy UN special: Team China vs Team World

Comedy UN presents a face-off special where comedians from China compete against international comics to see who can get the biggest laughs. Team China includes 2018 Hong Kong International Comedy Competition runner-up Storm Xu, as well as Suzhou's queen of comedy Sarah Peng, while Team World features China International Comedy Festival finalist/very tall Canadian Eric Alexander.

📍 Comedy UN, 549 Yanan Zhong Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu. Sat 17. 7.15-9pm. 70RMB; 50RMB (presale).

Mr & Mrs Bund presents Bingo Night Fever

Join modern eatery Mr & Mrs Bund for Bingo Night Fever, an extravagant night of bingo with prizes including luxury food baskets, wine Mr & Mrs Bund dining vouchers, a scooter and many more.

📍 Mr & Mrs Bund, Sixth Floor, Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu. Thu 15. 11pm-2.30am. From 250RMB.

Film

Image: courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Witches, wizards, magical creatures and Eddie Redmayne being ever so timid and ever so British as magizoologist Newt Scamander in the latest adventure from J.K Rowling's Harry Potter universe, also starring Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Jude Law and Ezra Miller.

📍 On general release from Nov 9.

Venom

Venom, a slick-skinned alien ‘symbiote’ who first plagued Marvel’s Peter Parker back in a 1986 comic, has a Wikipedia entry roughly 10-metres long. That’s not to say that the villain deserves his own film... But, he's got one. Flinching when it should be in-your-face and entirely surprise-free, Venom won‘t satisfy either uber-fans or the unconverted. Go for the CGI and accidental comedic value. Click for more films in cinemas this month.

📍 On general release from Fri 9. 

Art

Photograph: courtesy 247tickets

Cindy Sherman's First Solo Exhibition in China

Not one to miss, this is Cindy Sherman’s first major retrospective in China. The exhibition features 128 iconic works that span the artist’s 40-plus-year career, alongside documentary materials and archival footage. Through photography, Sherman tackled power relations, identity and the impact of the male gaze. The exhibition tracks her creative development from the 1970s to the present and will also present nine new works for the first time anywhere in the world. 

📍 Fosun Foundation, 600 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, near Dongmen Lu. Wed 7 until 13 Jan 2019. 10am-8pm (Thu, Sat); 10am-6pm (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun). 90RMB. Extract the QR code to purchase tickets.

Altered State: Deciphering Urban in the Art of Chen Xuanrong and Huang Yulong

Art+ Shanghai Gallery presents a duo exhibit of two artists influenced by hip hop and street culture, Chen Xuanrong and Huang Yulong. Their works make statements about their identities and surroundings, not attempting to establish guidelines for urbanity in China, but rather expressing a fascination with it. Huang sculpts a 'new face' with Chinese iconography in hoodies, while Chen paints urban graffitied environments on canvas. Together, the pair creates a modern concept of individuality in China.

📍 Art+ Shanghai Gallery, 191 Suzhou Nan Lu, near Sichuan Bei Lu. Until Sun 30 Dec (open Tue-Sun). 10am-7pm. Free. 

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