Lighting shows featuring diverse themes, such as painting masterpieces and shadow puppetry, have lit up Jing'an district recently, offering audiences an immersive experience on the charm of art and traditional Chinese culture.

As part of the third "Shining Shanghai Light Up Jing'an" lighting festival, a slew of lighting shows are set to take place around the Suzhou Creek and West Nanjing Road on every weekend after Chinese New Year.

The water platform by the Suzhou Creek is the cradle of the Jing'an lighting show and will regularly stage lighting shows from this year. Currently, working together with China Art Museum, a lighting show is on to mark the 180th birth anniversary of the notable Chinese artist Wu Changshuo.

Using artificial intelligence-generated content technology, the lighting show starts with the dynamic interpretation of five selected Chinese flower paintings from Wu. It is followed by several masterpieces of the renowned artist Liu Haisu as well as a mixed collection of flower artworks created by Western artists, bringing audiences into a flower garden in springtime with New Year's greetings and wishes.

In the Jing'an shopping district, an ongoing lighting show featuring Chinese shadow puppetry will run through Feb 12. Inscribed on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011, Chinese shadow puppetry has been exploring the integration of advanced technologies to tell modern stories.

With an 11-meter-long and 4-meter-high screen, the story on show is set in the background of modern Jing'an district. Consisting of five chapters, it vividly depicts a magic story where a family meets a golden snake, which slithers across diverse scenes in the Suzhou Creek and West Nanjing Road areas, bringing luck and best wishes for citizens and visitors. Utilizing advanced computer graphics animation and special effect techniques, the story particularly highlighted the landmarks in the district and presented this traditional art form in a refreshing way.

To continuously showcase the charm of art and promote cultural innovation in the district, the third Jing'an lighting show is set to further expand cooperation with art institutions and popular franchises this year, with more activities in preparation throughout the year.