Shanghai Comic Convention

Photo: comiccon.com.cn

Pop culture festivals inspired by the famous Comic-Con International: San Diego (commonly known as the San Diego Comic-Con) are held in numerous cities and town across the world. Of course, Shanghai (China’s largest city by population and the second most populous city proper in the world) is not an exception. The Shanghai Comic Convention is organized by ReedPOP.

ReedPOP is a subsidiary of Reed Exhibitions, which is one of the world’s largest event organizers. It organizes pop culture conventions and gaming events on all inhabited continents. ReedPOP events include fan conventions in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, India, France, Indonesia, Austria and other countries, PAX gaming events, Star Wars Celebration (the world’s largest gathering that celebrates the Star Wars franchise), and more.

ReedPOP used to organize pop culture conventions in Beijing in Shanghai. However, the Beijing Comic Convention was discontinued in 2017, so the Shanghai Comic Convention is considered to be the most important pop culture event in China as of 2018. It is an annual three-day event for all fans of comic books, blockbusters, television shows, video games, collectible toys, and other aspects of contemporary popular culture.

The programming of the Shanghai Comic Convention is modeled after that of other ReedPOP events and conventions all over the world. It includes panels and other events featuring celebrity guests (actors, film directors, comic book authors, well-known cosplayers), an Artist Alley, a Cosplay Championship (the winner gets a chance to participate in the C2E2 Crown Championships of Cosplay in Chicago), a merchandise market, and more.

One of the most interesting areas at the Shanghai Comic Convention is The Block. It brings together contemporary art, design, collectible items and fashion associated with the underground pop culture scene along with artists, thinkers, trendsetters and tastemakers. The area features live music, live art and cool stuff you may not have seen anywhere before.