International Light Festival proves popular with visitors for night strolls
The Shanghai Exhibition Center is lit up at night.
The 2024 Shanghai International Light Festival, the first of its kind in the city, has proven a popular option for night strolls among residents and visitors from home and abroad.
Since the festival opened on Thursday, the Shanghai Exhibition Center in Jing'an District, the main venue, has attracted more than 60,000 visits so far, with the outdoor projection show, 3D dome mapping show, and "Tyndall" Dream check-in spot most favored, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
A dome is lit up during the festival.
Two heavyweight exhibitions, the "Magic Shanghai: The Global Landscape Lighting Industry Exhibition" and "Beyond the Light Year: Shanghai Landscape Lighting Achievement Exhibition" are also popular items, it said.
Since September 9, admission to the festival has been fully booked for multiple rounds as soon as they were released.
A child enjoys the festival.
The main venue of the festival is open to the public for free. To ensure comfort and a pleasant experience for guests, a real-name reservation system is in place.
In response to surging demand, the bureau has increased the supply of tickets. Till September 27, people can log onto the Damai app, search for Shanghai International Light Festival (上海国际光影节) for the ticketing page, and reservations start at 12pm everyday through September 27.
The lights create a dreamlike scene.
With the theme of "Travel in Light," the festival that runs until October 18 comprises projection shows on famous buildings, indoor large-scale dome shows, water curtain shows, lighting ceremonies, light art installations, light music concerts, and a global landscape lighting industry exhibition, all presented by top international and professional teams.
At present, the 12 sub-venues of the festival across the city are gradually lit up one by one, presenting a dazzling visual spectacle.
A glimpse into the main venue shows some of the illuminated displays.
A platform for international exchange
The festival has also gathered plenty of foreign experts, serving as a platform of international exchange, cooperation, and friendship.
It was the fourth visit of Mark Burton-Page, general director of LUCI Association, in Shanghai. LUCI is the international network for cities on urban lighting and it has around 70 cities around the world that work together on the topic of urban lighting, including light festivals.
The event draws big crowds.
"What I see is that every time I come back, Shanghai is even more beautiful and, for sure, the lighting is always more intelligent and more connected," Burton-Page said. "It really looks even better, but not because it's brighter, because the balance is better as light is about balance.
"Shanghai is now organizing a first light festival, and I'm so happy because it means that light is considered in many different ways," he said.
"Shanghai is one of the cities with the most impressive lighting, and I believe it will continue to develop and will be even more fantastic next time."
Foreign attendees attend a lighting seminar.
"There's a lot of cooperation that's going on and we really want to connect to each other and it works really well. The festival brings together delegations from Los Angeles, Istanbul, Lyons and Paris to Shanghai. I'm sure that many more cities will be interested to come to Shanghai and see the next edition."
"Now it's really time to enjoy the event, it's starting now!" Burton-Page said.
A light installation lights up at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.
Julian Pavillard, manager of the Fete Des Lumiere Light Festival (Lyon Festival of Lights) and curator of the festival, has been to Shanghai many times and said he has been amazed every time.
"It's magical, Shanghai is a very beautiful and charming city and it's impressive to see all these towers with images," he said. "The quality of lighting is very high."
As his time was limited and shortened further by the impact of two typhoons, he did not see all parts of the festival.
"But what I have seen is very nice and I think that I really would like to stay longer to see every installation," he said. "I hope that we can work together for a long time."
People take photos at the festival.
Adnan Biyiklioglu, head of Energy Management and Lighting for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, said Istanbul is planning to organize a lighting festival for the first time in the coming years.
"This first lighting festival in the magnificent city of Shanghai will set a great example for us," he said.
"It was a very good example of how light and darkness are synchronized together in Shanghai, adding value to the city," he added.
The Shanghai Exhibition Center is lit up.
