Jing'an Turns into
an Open-Air Stage This Autumn
For several weeks this autumn, art, light and music are spilling out of galleries and concert halls and into the streets of Jing'an. Light installations, digital projections, and immersive performances in parks, shopping areas, historic neighborhoods, and the Suzhou Creek waterfront are part of cultural programs that run through October.
The first International Audio-Visual Arts Carnival opened September 24 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center and continues through October 18. The program brings together an international exhibition, an immersive performance, industry forums and concerts.
The exhibition featured companies and creative teams working with spatial audio, AI image restoration, extended reality and humanoid robotics. "Audio-Visual Wonderland" combined live actors and physical sets with 3D projection mapping, motion capture and LiDAR to reinterpret traditional Chinese culture through digital technology.
Visitors experience AI technology at Jing'an Joy City.
An esports-themed symphonic concert featured music from "League of Legends" and "Honor of Kings." On September 27, composer and conductor Tan Dun led the China National Symphony Orchestra in a classical concert at the Shanghai Exhibition Center's outdoor plaza.
The fourth "Shining Shanghai Light Up Jing'an" International Light Festival, which opened September 19, is turning the district into an evening art trail through October 7. At Jing'an Park, light installations have been woven into the landscape, including a nine-meter "Moon River," an illuminated fish above the lake, and projections along the park's waterfront. More installations extend along Nanjing Road W., including at Zhangyuan Garden and on the façades of commercial buildings.
The festival takes on a different character along Suzhou Creek. At Shenyuli, a historic shikumen complex, works from this year's international light-art competition are being projected onto its buildings. The competition, themed "Metamorphosis," drew 156 entries from 149 artists and teams across 41 countries and regions. Twenty works were shortlisted, with five winning gold, silver or bronze awards. Their themes range from the transformation of the city to the relationship between its past and future.
Two large-scale shows at a nearby waterfront platform feature interactive installations. The area is also hosting events connected with the 2026 Rolex Shanghai Masters, including themed buses, sightseeing cruises and sports-related light displays. The waterfront program runs through October 18.
Jing'an International Light Festival in Jing'an Park
In the Daning area, the light festival continues through October 16, with illuminated installations at Daning International Plaza and aerial displays over Daning Park, including drone formations and digital signage. The New Tech & Culture Innovation Festival began September 28 in the Nanjing Road W. commercial district and runs through October 7, with Tencent Music Entertainment contributing nearly 100 events. Visitors can grab event wristbands at venues including the Shanghai Exhibition Center, HKRI Taikoo Hui, Jiuguang Department Store, Jing'an Park, and Zhangyuan.
The wristbands provide access to event information and bookings, as well as selected discounts. Consumer vouchers are also available through Jing'an's Culture, Commerce, Tourism, Sports and Exhibitions mini-program.
Jing'an Welcomes Sculpture From
Around the World
The 9th Jing'an International Sculpture Project (JISP), which opened on September 24 and runs through December 31, brings contemporary sculpture into parks, streets, waterfronts and commercial spaces across Shanghai's Jing'an District under the theme "Shapes of Becoming."
The main exhibition is centered at Jing'an Sculpture Park, with additional works along Nanjing Road W. and Suzhou Creek. In total, 36 works are being presented at 28 locations, nearly 60 percent of them by international artists.
The lineup includes 14 countries and regions: China, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Brazil, and South Korea. Award-winning British sculptor Tony Cragg, Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, Australian contemporary artist Lindy Lee, and French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, whose work is permanently installed at Versailles, are participating.
The sculptural work "Industrial Nature" by British artist Tony Cragg.
This year's theme examines how artists are rethinking sculpture in response to a changing world. Nature, materials, urban life, personal memory, and technology inspire the works, expanding sculpture's definition.
Stone and metal sit alongside light, sound and digital media. Some works invite viewers to interact with them or respond to their surroundings, transforming the experience of sculpture in public spaces.
From daylight to evening, several works change with the light, offering different views of the sculptures and bringing them into closer conversation with the landscape and city.
The Jing'an Sculpture Park Art Center is also hosting three indoor exhibitions, giving visitors another way to encounter the works while connecting the indoor program with the outdoor installations.
Young artists rule JISP this year. Commissioned works by under-45 artists decorate the park's central lawn. JISP is also inviting current students and recent graduates to submit works for selection with the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts and the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, introducing new voices.
The indoor public exhibition at Jing'an Sculpture Park Art Center.
Art beyond the park
The exhibition is accompanied by over 30 public events, including a photography call, a youth creative competition, art workshops, eco-art wellness sessions, lawn concerts, and a bubble-themed art theater.
A JISP-themed pop-up shop has been on the first floor of the Jing'an Sculpture Park Art Center since September 20. Sculptures have been turned into silk scarves, canvas bags, T-shirts, and accessories.
JISP also takes its art beyond the park. In partnership with Brompton, the project has created a cycling route connecting off-site works with cultural landmarks across Jing'an.
Fotografiska's façade features "Flora," which brings images of nature and ecology to the waterfront and echoes the development of the Suzhou Creek ecological corridor.
The interactive work "Convergence" at Shuangyong Park incorporates Shanghai's architectural heritage into a neighborhood pocket park with shikumen arches and wrought-iron window grilles from old villas.
The artwork "Human Time is Movement (Autumn)" by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson
At Jing'an Kerry Center on Nanjing Road W., a dynamic generative artwork fills digital screens with moving imagery, bringing contemporary art into one of the city's busiest commercial districts after dark. Since its launch in 2010, JISP has explored how public art can become part of the city itself.
Xu Jian, director of the Jing'an Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, described the project as a way to test how art can be integrated into different parts of the urban landscape.
"The exhibition is a practical model for exploring how art can be integrated into different urban spaces," Xu said. "The goal is to create an open-air museum without walls while improving the quality of public spaces and making culture accessible to everyone."
Public art has been used in urban renewal and spatial planning in Jing'an to improve the Suzhou Creek waterfront, neighborhood streets, pocket parks, and underbridges. The district has expanded pedestrian and bicycle routes.
The aim, Xu said, is for art and everyday city life to share the same spaces.
Jing'an Puts Life and Health
at the Heart of Its Growth Strategy
This new column highlights Jing'an's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) achievements, including a better business environment, competitive industries and thriving emerging sectors. It also highlights the district's efforts to develop key industrial clusters and the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) to create a modern industrial system with a (3+3) + (1+3+X) framework. The "Invest Jing'an" section highlights the district's efforts in this area.
Suhewan has emerged as a hub for leading healthcare companies and projects, supported by its prime location, strong resources and business-friendly environment.
The biopharmaceutical industry based in Jing'an posted strong growth in the first half of 2026, with output rising 19.2 percent year-on-year to more than 40.77 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion).
The district has over 800 life and health companies. As China begins its 15th Five-Year Plan, Jing'an lists life and health as one of its three emerging industries.
Multinational headquarters, an innovation ecosystem, and real-world applications provide companies with corporate decision-making, clinical and technology resources, capital, and market opportunities.
Foreign-invested companies make up nearly 10 percent of district businesses but generate 48 percent of tax revenue, above the Shanghai average. Jing'an's foreign-related economy has led Shanghai's central districts for 10 years.
The concentration is particularly strong in life sciences. One-third of the world's top 50 biopharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb, have regional headquarters with management functions in Jing'an.
Sanofi opened its China R&D center at Jing'an Kerry Center in the first half of 2026, while AstraZeneca's Global R&D China Center combines research and commercial operations.
On April 20, Eisai China Investment Co moved into Suhe Center. On May 27, two Dutch life and health companies, Biotactical BV and AVIGI Therapeutics BV, established operations in the district.
They contribute more than taxes. These companies are adding corporate and R&D capabilities to Jing'an by locating decision-making, financial settlement, and innovation functions there.
Jing'an is also building an innovation ecosystem that connects clinical resources with data, computing capabilities and capital.
Huashan, Huadong, and Shanghai Tenth People's hospitals, provide clinical expertise and specialist resources from research to clinical validation to life and health companies in the district.
Shanghai's first big-data industrial base, Shibei High-Tech Park, houses one-third of the city's big-data companies and has a full industry chain from data collection to applications and services. Jing'an promotes AI in healthcare and uses data to innovate.
Sanofi expands access to innovative medicines and drives digital innovation in China.
At the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Jing'an, the Shanghai Society for Mathematical Medicine was founded, and a national "model-data synergy" initiative was launched. The district also houses the Shanghai Medical and Healthcare Data Industry Innovation Lab and Shanghai Biomedicine Trusted Service Chain. The initiatives aim to improve access to data, establish rules for its use, and facilitate data flows, addressing the gap between increasingly capable models and limited access to high-quality data.
The district has developed a multi-layered financing system involving government guidance, industry capital and market-oriented funds, providing funding from basic research through commercialization. The Sanofi-Cathay Capital Healthcare Innovation Fund, for example, brings together Sanofi's industry resources and Jing'an's innovation ecosystem.
The district is also expanding real-world applications, giving companies more opportunities to take products from research and development to market.
Beauty is one such area, linking clinical research, technology commercialization and product launches. Clinical resources at leading institutions, including Huashan Hospital's dermatology department and Shanghai Dermatology Hospital provide scientific validation and technical support for areas such as efficacy-focused skincare and precision beauty.
Clarins' first overseas laboratory in Jing'an
The district hosts R&D centers for L'Oréal and Clarins, supporting medical researchers and industry. Nanjing Road W. connects R&D to the consumer market with its concentration of brands and strong demand for first-to-market launches.
Smart healthcare is another focus, bringing together data, computing power, algorithms and real-world applications. Jing'an was Shanghai's first pilot district for resident health profiling, covering residents enrolled in the district's health management system across nearly 100 data dimensions. The initiative was also presented at the 79th World Health Assembly as an example of China's approach to health and medical data applications.
Companies in areas such as AI drug discovery, precision nutrition and health insurance can use high-quality clinical data in compliance with relevant regulations to train models and develop products.
资料：区新闻办、上海日报
