The festive Christmas season has kicked off in warm spirits. The inaugural Christmas Lighting Ceremony of Shangri-La Hotel and Traders Hotel at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport was successfully held in the hotel lobbies. With the core philosophy of “More Than a Hotel, A Warm Community”, the event artfully blended the warmth of traditional festivals, the allure of cultural art, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and cutting-edge technological elements. It crafted a unique and unforgettable Christmas launch gala, infusing the winter days of Shanghai with a rich festive atmosphere and sparkling charm.
The ceremony kicked off in a warm and joyful atmosphere. Xiangxiang and Shengsheng, the hotel’s original IP mascots, made a surprise appearance, interacting warmly with guests on site. Together with Santa Claus handing out sweet candies, they instantly kindled a strong festive vibe.
Hot on their heels, two pairs of ballroom dancers took the stage with dynamic flash mob moves. Their light yet expressive steps further sent the venue’s energy soaring, officially ushering in the glamorous highlight of the lighting ceremony.
A chorus of ethereal voices brings heartfelt festive wishes.
Children from the Shanghai American School Choir presented two classic Christmas songs with their pure and clear voices. The melodious tunes echoed above the hotel, delivering the most sincere holiday wishes to every guest's heart.
Then, the event moved on to its most thrilling highlight – the Lighting Ceremony.
After a warm speech delivered by the hotel's General Manager, members of the hotel management team and the event planning director took the stage together. By ringing the Christmas bells, they officially announced the glorious launch of the first Christmas season at Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Traders Hotel, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
As the crisp jingle of bells lingered in the air, the several-meter-tall Christmas tree standing in the center of the lobby was instantly illuminated by thousands of twinkling lights. Its dazzling glow bathed the entire space, marking the official arrival of the Christmas season—a time symbolizing warmth, hope and joyful gatherings.
Warmth Goes Hand in Hand with Responsibility
The event featured a special charity segment, echoing Shangri-La Group’s philosophy of social responsibility. It specially invited the autistic children’s orchestra from the "Angel Music Salon" of Shanghai Cao Peng Foundation to perform a Christmas-themed string quintet live on site.
The extraordinary talent and pure hearts that the children expressed through music deeply touched everyone present. This vividly illustrated the hotel’s firm commitment to community care and corporate social responsibility, embodying the hotel’s spirit of inclusiveness and warmth.
Technology Empowers, a Surprising Finale
As a hallmark of Traders' status as a new benchmark for technological innovation, a uniquely spectacular finale was presented at the end of the ceremony: a highly agile robotic dog carried Santa Claus to deliver a futuristic dance performance.
This creative fusion of technology and festive celebration offered a refreshing visual experience to all guests present, and also highlighted the hotel’s innovative spirit of leading the trends.
Notably, the most distinctive design of this ceremony draws inspiration from the romantic night view of the city as seen from an airplane porthole: the sprawling sea of lights on the ground is like a shower of stars descending upon the mortal world. This aerial view of urban lights and shadows has been ingeniously recreated on a 1:1 scale, carefully adorned by renowned designers by hand, turning those twinkling glimmers into a stunning mosaic.
The Christmas tree standing in the center is not only a symbol of the festive season, but also a masterpiece embodying creativity and craftsmanship. Its trunk is adorned with colorful baubles and glittering ornaments, while the glowing ribbons twined around it cascade down like a river of stars, echoing the dazzling starburst atop the tree. Set against the backdrop of the magnificent marble hall, it shines with extraordinary radiance. More than just a glittering emblem of the holidays, the entire tree seems to hold within it a gentle starlit night viewed from high above. It endows the static festive décor with dynamic poetry and boundless imagination, forging an "observable sky city" within the hotel’s space.
The successful holding of this Christmas Lighting Ceremony not only marks the official start of the joyful Christmas season at Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Traders Hotel, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, but also showcases the hotel brands’ unique cultural connotations, warm humanistic care and pioneering innovative spirit to the public through diversified session arrangements and in-depth integrated experiences. This Christmas, the hotels will welcome guests from all over the world with more exciting activities and thoughtful services to celebrate the wonderful festival together.
Shangri-La Group is a world-renowned developer, owner and manager of hotels and real estate investments, with businesses covering hotels, office buildings, commercial properties, serviced apartments and residences. The Group’s other major businesses include hotel management services and developable property development. Currently, the Group owns and manages over 100 hotels under the Shangri-La Hotels, Shangri-La Signatures, Kerry Hotels, JEN Hotels and Traders Hotels brands across more than 75 destinations worldwide. Rooted in Asia, Shangri-La Group has numerous hotel and integrated complex projects under development, located in regions such as Australia, Mainland China and Japan. For more information, please visit
https://www.shangri-la.com/cn/group/.
