District transforms into an urban playground

From pages to runways

When the sun dips below the plane trees, the district changes character.

Sinan Mansions moves more slowly after dark. Weekend night markets line the lanes with seasonal produce, handmade crafts and craft beer, while three public stages host folk and jazz performances that drift with the evening breeze.

The newly opened Soul House theater bar turns old villas into an immersive, playful experience with eight rooms, eight storylines and eight signature drinks. Guests follow actors through corners of the century-old building for an hour-long blend of drinking, theater and interactions. Every session has sold out since its opening.

Fuxing Park, a 10-minute walk east along Fuxing Middle Road, hums with a different kind of energy.

What was once a quiet local park after dark has been reimagined as a glowing "adult fairy tale amusement park", with motion-sensor lights hidden in the bushes.

Visitors now find a giant disco ball hanging from the treetops, a vintage carousel wrapped in neon lights by the fountain, and bumper cars and pirate rides enhanced by fog machines and projected storytelling.

Xia Tianyi, co-founder of INS Land, sums up the model as "turning the city into a playground".

Rather than running a single nightclub, the company operates the district as a platform for culture, commerce, tourism, and exhibitions.

In his view, every traditional format — from park rides and corner stores to old villa bars — can be reimagined with stage-level lighting, sound and narratives.

Light installations, fog systems and interactive features light up the entire park. A single clip of the disco ball has racked up more than 80,000 likes and over 10 million views on social media platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote.

INS Land houses electronic music venues, livehouses and bounce rooms under one roof. It ranks 12th on DJ Mag's 2026 list of the world's Top 100 Clubs, and is also a national 3A-level tourist attraction, one of the first urban cultural landmarks in Shanghai to receive the designation.

Lalo Lopez, a Spanish DJ based in Shanghai, says what he appreciates most about the city's nightlife is how locals infuse it with their own values, character and energy.

"People express themselves more in how they dress, how they dance, and how parties are organized. Local tastes and international influence blend really well here," he says.

Fan, deputy general manager of Sinan Mansions, has observed that foreign visitors to the site are most drawn to authentic Chinese cultural experiences. The traditional incense ceremony and the intangible heritage shop with traditional embroidery pieces are among their most-visited spots.

"You don't need a strict itinerary. Wander from Sinan to Fuxing, and there's something to see every step of the way," she says.

From afternoon page-turning to runway music at dusk and disco beats deep in the night, this century-old district holds many versions of Shanghai.

Between day and night, tradition and trend coexist, and the local and the international merge.