Year of the Tiger! It’s gonna be grrrrrrrreat!

(Yeah, that’s all we got.)

Here’s a bunch of things you can do in Shanghai over Chinese New Year. As always, lots of places take a few days here and there. Conduct yourself accordingly and call ahead.

Happy Chinese New Year from the SmartShanghai team.

Go see the mummies — or these three other art exhibitions

SmartShanghai just did a lil’ round up of art exhibitions that are newly open in town. One of them has mummies. The others? Painting and stuff. Typical.  Check out the full listings of art events right here.

Blow your friends away with your laser tag skills

Laser tag: It’s like “tag” but from the future. Or from the 1980s. You decide. Here’s a bunch of laser tag places in a handy dandy list.

Last Call for M on the Bund

Get your last brunch (or lunch or dinner) in at M on the Bund. After 23 years this Bund trailblazer closes on February 15. Obviously, you’ll have to sort out some reservations. Did you see our interview with Michelle yet? 

Get your booster shot

Get your booster shot. Pretty self-explanatory… but now you’ve got the free time to take care of it. Be responsible. Take care of yourself. Be a good human.

Try out a new restaurant

Here’s where we’ve been eating, the, last, few, months. Some restaurants and bars have adjusted their operating hours to give staff some time off. Call ahead to make sure they’re open. Don’t come back complaining to us, c’mon man.

Try one of these restaurants and bars that are definitely open

SmartShanghai wholeheartedly recommends these places to eat and drink in — and they’ll be open: Pici, Roma, Butler & White, Abbey Road, Boteco, Khan ChaCha, Latina… Specters.

(The softest of soft recommendations on that last one. *cough cough*. It’s open, just sayin’. Hey, don’t come, maaaaan, see if "they" care.)

Here’s a bunch more recommended places that have adjusted hours: Beer & Space, (closed from January 31 to February 2); Caminetto (closed from February 1 to February 4); MESS (closed from January 31 to February 3); Octave LR (closed from February 1 to February 3); Birroteca (closed from January 31 to February 3). 

Go to the bonkers snowing (“snowing”) restaurant.

Or y’know… don’t. Either works.

Fix your fat failure of a life at a spa

SmSh has been to some life-saving spas lately for some super involved treatments that use the latest Hollywood technology to electrocute the fugly out of people. Check out Jsquared (deals for men here), which is amazing and QY Med Spa , which is also amazing. Bring your wallet.

Go ice skating (!)

Here’s three open-air ice skating rinks. Yup.

Walk around one of these crazy new malls pondering late stage global capitalism

“If we believe in nothing, if nothing has any meaning and if we can affirm no values whatsoever, then everything is possible and nothing has any importance.” ― Albert Camus

Here’s what’s up at 1000 Trees and three other ones.

Bathe in the “Temple of Light”

Sounds, lights, and feudal fury down on the banks of the Huangpu. All the info here. You need to book a ticket in advance. When’s the last time you updated your MySpace profile, anyways?

The baffling Jurassic Park Exhibition is still on

We don’t know why this and why now, but the official Jurassic Park animatronics exhibition is currently showing in Pudong. Dinos! Dinos rule. More info here.

Go to one of those new sports entertainment places

Decent food and drinks are all well and good but these new-ish venues are offering something a bit extra to get you in the door. Planet One has wall-to-ceiling VR games from Netease and official F1 racing simulators. Topgolf is top-notch professional golf emulators out in a spacious venue in People’s Square. And the new Cages is open all ideal for private games and parties with groups of friend stuck in town. Ideal if you’re in a boring, dead relationship with someone and please God, you’re just looking for something, anything.

Drink. Hit da club. Drink some more. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

The SmartShanghai nightlife listings are a thing that exists. Check those out here if you’re into the nnn tsst, nnn tsst, nnn tsst. We have not the strength to click on that link. Celia Academy will be open allll week serving late night beats. 

Go get waxed! For 50% off. Why not!

Once you finish spring cleaning your house... next is to spring clean those forests that have cropped up. Strip & Brauhaus have some HOT deals so you can get yourself hairless for all the CNY parties taking place throughout the week. Or get some great things done to your lashes (deals for those too!). They are doing full Brazilians for 210 RMB down from 420 RMB.. GET THAT DONE PRONTO, because that price is liiiiit. Get your deals on by clicking here. 

Feast on a Brazilian BBQ during CNY

After you get your Brazilian Wax, go feast at Latina with great deals on lunch and dinner buffet deals. They have traditional feijoida (go look up how to say that word, so sexy), 20 varieties of Brazilian apetizers, traditional hot entrees, and desserts. They also have free-flow add-ons starting at 38 RMB for lunch and 68 RMB for dinner. Time to get full and wasted? Dinner buffet is an exclusive 249 RMB for SmartShanghai users. Get your tickets here, and take friends. 

Do the horrifying looking Jin Mao Tower Walk

Seriously. You can get a rope strapped to you and walk around outside the Jin Mao Tower. God in heaven. Here’s all the details on what this is and how to get tickets. Do it, chicken! Bock, bock!

Take in a show

The always reliable The Pearl has a slew of tribute concerts and shows on for the holidays. Hardest workin’ dudes in show business over there. Check 'em out over the holidays.

Check out the Kung Fu Panda interactive exhibition

SmartShanghai sent like a 30-year-old dude to review the Kung Fu Panda thing, which actually makes sense because he would have been like 6 when that movie came out. Anyways, he came back with some perspectives on the thing. Check it.

Zotter Chocolate Theatre? WTF? Haha, sure, why not.

We’ll end off on this one. Apparently there is a “chocolate theatre” in Shanghai and SmSh’s own Justin Fischer went to it in 2014 and it’s still going. He wrote this sweaty, feverish, 4000-word article about it.

He said it’s “avant garde chocolate indulgence inside” and “absolutely worth the trip to Yangpu district.”

I mean it sounds delightful…

Someone might have to get an XXXXXL oompa-loompa costume off Taobao and revisit the thing… write the article from like the “chocolate expert’s” perspective.

Hmmm.

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