Celebrate the Holidays With These Free Beijing Light Shows
Christmas celebrations have become so popular in China over the past few years that you can now expect to see festive decorations during a trip to your local Beijing mall.
Here's a short list of places hosting free events to help you celebrate the holidays this season:
Solana 10th Annual Light Festival
The Solana Lifestyle Shopping Park is ensuring its latest light festival is its most impressive one to date with a massive art installation over its central plaza.
Created by US artist Janet Echelman, the award-winning 30-by-14-meter sculpture is an undulating wave that billows overhead that is lit up with a myriad of lights.
How to get there: Solana Park is located to the northwest of Chaoyang Park in the Maizidian residential area, east of Liangmaqiao Station on Line 10. The festival runs until Feb 28, 2018.
The Place
The Place maintains its already high standards by giving its visitors something to look up to – namely, its massive overhead video installation.
The RMB 250 million video screen gets a holiday update this month and is accompanied by various Christmas decorations.
How to get there: Take Exit D from Dongdaqiao Station on Line 6, or Exit A of Jintaixizhao Station on Line 10.
Taikoo Li Mall Christmas Tree
People who aren't feeling merry in Sanlitun can deck the halls with a 15-meter-high electronic Christmas tree.
Featuring a changing light show, the light-up Christmas tree joins Taikoo Li's other installations that were unveiled earlier in December as part of its on-going light festival.
How to get there: Head west from Tuanjiehu Station, Line 10.
Santa's Castle at Indigo Mall
Indigo Mall celebrates Christmas with an installation that imagines a holiday merger of the North and South Poles. Here, Santa's castle is inundated with penguins that guard its entrance and act as butlers. And if you can't accept polar extremes, the mall also features a 10-meter-high indoor Christmas tree.
How to get there: Indigo Mall is right by Jiangtai Station of Line 14 in the Jiuxianqiao residential area near the 798 Art District. Runs until Jan 2, 2018.
Joy City Mall, Xidan
The first of Beijing's two Joy City Malls is celebrating Christmas this year with a "resplendent Christmas tree" that sparkles like its sponsor, Swarovski. Additionally, visitors can enjoy the "Molly XMas" installation, which is almost certainly not as fun as it sounds.
How to get there: Take Exit A at Xidan Station on Line 1.
Joy City Mall, Chaoyang
Joy City's counterpart in the east of Beijing is also hosting a light show as well as an installation featuring the world's laziest fried egg, Japan's Gudetama, the popular mascot for which existence is too much to bear.
How to get there: Go to Qingnianlu Station on Line 6. Runs until Mar 6, 2018.
Gemdale Plaza
Light up your life with this shopping mall light installation, located in the heart of the CBD.
How to get there: Head west from Dawanglu Station on Line 1.
Fun Capital
The honor of having the tallest Christmas tree in Beijing goes to this northern theme park/mall and its massive 30-meter-high tree.
How to get there: Located near the Changping Xishankou Station at the end of the Changping Line.
Church celebrations
Despite what the rest of this list may suggest, Christmas isn't just celebrated at Chinese shopping malls. Two local Beijing churches are having their own non-secular celebrations that feature lights and Christmas trees.
One is held at the Haidian Church located at 9 Caihefang Road while the other is located at the 105-year-old Xizhimen Catholic Church located near Exit D of the Xinjiekou Station on Line 4 in Zhongguancun.
Images: Xinhua (news.xinhuanet.com), Weibo.com, Rayli.com.cn, ElleChina.com, mcwzgcom, China Economy (economy.china.com)
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