Christmas in Shanghai Part 2

Update – September 27, 2011: A revised and expanded version of this post, with images intact, has been reposted on our new website here.

December 6th Update: As usual, the “Christmas spirit” of commercialism is in full evidence in Shanghai this year, filling Chinese shoppers with Western cheer. I didn't see any killer Santas, lame Santa costumes, or hip-hop Christmas choirs, though, so it appears that (as in everything else) China is making progress in its celebration of Christmas. And as you can see from the last photo below, taken in the lobby of Kunming's Weilong Hotel on November 17th, the imperial presence of Christmas in China isn't limited to coastal cosmopolitan centers anymore—it has extended its dominion far into the country’s interior:

Click on the photos below to see larger versions.

Lovely decorations at the
Jin Guang City Plaza mall
(photo by CIT)


A blurry gold Christmas tree captured
from my cab as we careened by
(photo by CIT)


Unencumbered by Thanksgiving,
China can beat the U.S. to the
Christmas punch by putting decorations
up before mid-November.
(photo by CIT)