If this is the first New Years that you'll be celebrating in Shanghai or the twentieth, here are a few FAQ and tips from the SmSh crew to make sure you do it properly and avoid epic failures (we know from experience):
Are NYE parties still selling tickets?
Yep. Here's our full list of places still selling tickets.
Where can I buy ice, alcohol, etc. for a house party?
DrinKuaidi delivers ice (25rmb for 2kg) as well as beer, wine, cider, spirits, pre-made cocktails, glasses, wine coolers, and cocktail kits — plus, new addition, non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip and soft drinks if you plan to take it easy this NYE. Order via their WeChat store (search for Drinkuaidi), website, JSS, Eleme or Sherpas store.
Sherpas has some stores that sell ice and alcohol, as do
Eleme, JSS and Meituan. Search for
冰塊 bing kuai (ice),
紅酒 hong jiu (red wine),
啤酒 pi jiu (beer),
伏特加 fu te jia (vodka), etc. Stock up as early as possible!
Epermarket also sells ice at 11rmb for a 1kg bag. Plus wine, beer, spirits, etc. but you need to order early for same-day delivery.
Hot tip: If you don't plan to drink alcohol this year for whatever reason but want something other than soda water/ginger ale, some stores on Eleme sell
alcohol-free beer. Search
無酒精啤酒 wu jiu jing pi jiu. (Ed's note: abomination!)
How late are the metros running?
On New Year’s Eve aka the evening of December 31,
metro lines 1, 2, 9 and
10 will operate extended hours following the same timetable as the weekend, according to the 12345 hotline. Last metros will be passing downtown between 12.30-1am. Click read more for the timetables. Check carefully.
For crowd control, Line 2/10's East Nanjing Road Station (the station closest to the Bund) will be closed at 10pm, meaning passengers cannot enter or exit this station after 10pm on Thursday. If you're using the metro to get to the Bund and are traveling after 10pm, get off at either People’s Square or Yuyuan Garden. It's roughly a thirty minute walk from there, but with the crowds, allow for more.
Can I use Didi/Meituan/etc during New Year's?
Sure! A couple hundred thousand people will be having the same idea. Get into the
Didi/
Meituan queue early or book a Didi in advance (hit the "schedule" button).
Even as a last second-option,
fake taxis are not an option. They'll take weird routes, try to overcharge you, often don't accept WeChat or Alipay and they'll just get stuck in traffic anyway. Avoid!
You can also
rent a car for the evening.
GTA Motors offer a seven-person van for around 2,000rmb for the day, including a driver, or for the full limousine thing, a chauffeured Mercedes R class that can seat seven people and cost around 2,700rmb.
Shanghai Driver can do a Mercedes van with a driver for 1,500rmb for a night.
Maofeng (ASD Car central) has more options, from 600rmb for 4 hours with a Buick up to 2,000rmb for 8 hours with a Mercedes S class. Most of them add parking fees on top.
Failing that, shared bikes are a treasure for navigating New Year's Eve Shanghai, but don't expect them to be your saving grace for the Bund: police will be stopping people on bikes several blocks back from the riverfront. Wear walking shoes.
Is New Year's Eve bar hopping a thing?
Of course it is! But in general, don’t party hop unless the places are within walking distance of one another. Our best advice is to pick a place and hunker down.
Any tips for partying on the Bund?
If you must party on the Bund, prepare way in advance. Taking a Didi 40 minutes before the count-down is going to see you spending your first hour in 2021 in the back of a car. Get there early, like two-three hours early, and plan your egress for after the clock strikes midnight.
The police cordon off an enormous bit of the Bundt to traffic, so taxis/didis won't be able to pick you up or drop you off. Here's the map, courtesy of SHINE.
The nearest spots to the Bund that isn't blocked is the Bei Suzhou Lu / Daming Lu intersection (北蘇州路大名路路口) right by the Garden Bridge near Astor House, or the Fuxing Dong Lu / Zhongshan Nan Lu intersection (復興東路中山南路路口) by the Huangpu River Ferry Station.
Will there be a fireworks display or light show on the Bund?
Fireworks have been banned inside Shanghai's Inner Ring Road since 2016. In a city of 24.6 million people where sound and air pollution are already concerns, that's a good thing.
According to 12345, The Bund will, however, have a light show similar to the one from CIIE, which hopefully means Lujiazui deploying its full array of sky lazers and the whole sha-bang. On Thursday night, shows start at 6.30pm every half hour and on the hour until midnight. If you miss it on New Year’s Eve, the show is also running January 1- 2 every half hour from 6.30 to 9.30pm.
A note of caution though: Shanghai has been trying to downplay its Bund-side celebration since the stampede in 2014. So it's a gamble. There might be the full light show, or the Oriental Pearl might just light up a little and the clock tower might strike an electronic bong — or there might be nothing. Last year we were meant to see a drone light show, but it turned out they recorded it a few days earlier. It showed on TV, but on the night itself, nothing.
There are always crowds on the Bund regardless.
If you've got your heart set on seeing some fireworks, Shanghai Disneyland will have two fireworks displays on New Year's Eve above the castle inside the resort at 7pm and 9.30pm. You might even make it back downtown in time for champagne and crackers.
Any last bits of advice?
Even if you plan to cocoon yourself in a bar, you'll have to spend at least a little time outside getting to and from your bed, so wrap up warm! It's going to be cold!
Happy New Year, Shanghai! See you in 2021!
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Looking for something to do on New Year's Eve? Check our New Year's special page.