Magic City Strolls | A Few Ways to Unwind in the City

As the most ‘involution‑trapped’ generation, our stress‑relief methods are simply drinking, eating, clubbing, and gaming.

A close friend once told her husband, “I’m so unhappy today!”

Her husband replied, “Let’s go clubbing tonight! A good bounce and you’ll feel better!”

It was dead straightforward, but true enough – after bouncing around she really did feel better.

We joked, “Mindless bopping is such primal joy. No wonder African people always look so happy.”

It was a silly remark, but the fact is we all get down for no particular reason. Especially as the year’s end approaches, a whole year’s worth of pressure seems to pile up. Sometimes you just need to do something mindless and let your constantly wound‑up brain coast.

Here in this post I’m sharing three unwind experiences I’ve tried recently, hoping to give you some weekend inspiration and sprinkle a few happy spices into busy life!

Immersive Sleepwalk Theatre:

Mahua FunAge《Lilong 1992》

Mahua FunAge is known as a seal of comic quality, but this time I’m not recommending just any stage play. Put simply, it’s a murder‑mystery game blended with comedy performance, a bit like Sleep No More.

The venue is the hip new mall North Bund Raffles City’s City Market. The moment you walk in and hear the old Reeb beer jingle “Reasons for Loving Shanghai”, you feel like you’re being pulled back twenty years.

See the retro shop signs, vintage TV sets and washing machines, the life‑like granny doll selling gardenias on the corner… it’s as if you’ve returned to the days of waving a palm‑leaf fan and giggling in the alleyways. These long‑lost objects carry memories that may span several generations.

Who didn’t visit the corner shop as a kid, or knock themselves out to win a red “Mobile Honour” banner? Do these little snacks still look familiar?

Once upon a time, you’d often see elderly ladies on the roadside threading gardenia bracelets (in Shanghainese: “white orchid” bracelets). Buy one and the fragrance would last for days. This granny in the show startled me more than once – she looks way too real.

I also spotted a Greater Bay Area brother, and some stickers and posters I collected as a child.

The trendy venue adds great colour to the whole performance, and precisely because it’s held here, the show runs from 10:30 pm to 1:30 am. When I first saw the schedule, I was a bit taken aback – it’s clearly not early‑birds friendly. But when it was over, I decided the occasional late night was totally worth it. I didn’t feel sleepy for a moment; I can’t believe I lasted that long, and afterwards I was still so cheerful, discussing the ending with my companions.

A heads‑up: many areas of this City Market are closed during the day and only open for the first time after the night‑time shutdown. I recommend arriving early to eat, take photos, since it’s going to be a late one.

Inside the old 1992 Shanghai lilong “Fu An Li”, rumour has it that a “red‑robed vampire” is on the loose. Every audience member is split into twelve groups, each trailing one of twelve professional Mahua FunAge NPC actors to search for clues and uncover the truth. Every time the bell tolls, everyone gathers in the open‑air plaza to analyse clues together, trying to figure out who the “vampire” is.

The whole show is very friendly for murder‑mystery / escape‑room newbies. Although you’re supposed to be finding a “vampire”, there are no horror elements and no one jumps out to scare you. An assigned actor stays with your group the entire time – just follow their lead and even if you slack off you can still finish the story smoothly. The interactivity is great; every actor is skilled at picking up cues, with top‑notch reaction speed.

Our group followed Tingting, a garment factory worker. She took us around the workshop to play games – kicking shuttlecock, throwing beanbags, solving riddles – to earn White Orchid Coins. These coins can unlock a memory sequence (performed) between Tingting and other characters, helping you solve the case.

The story has a final twist, warm yet tinged with a little melancholy – I won’t spoil it here. Life is full of disappointments; beautiful memories often can only be kept in the heart. Dreams always end. If you knew it was a dream, would you still want to go back and take a look?

Lilong 1992

• Dates: Running until March next year, every night 10:30 pm to 1:30 am

• Address: B1 City Market (at night called “Fu An Li”), Raffles City Shanghai (North Bund). Tell the security guard you’re here for Mahua FunAge, and they’ll guide you into the closed mall.

• Tickets: Regular role ¥499, deep‑experience role ¥549. The difference is that the deep‑experience role includes a costume change and actors give you a bit more interaction and attention. I think a ¥499 regular ticket is enough.

Take an Acting Class: Stan Lai’s Theatre Creative Workshop

I say acting class is de‑stressing because it makes you focus wholeheartedly.

I think a huge source of our pressure comes from non‑stop phone notifications – DingTalk, WeChat, real‑time platform data tracking. This nearly three‑hour experiential class requires you to put your phone away completely, focus on yourself, focus on the present. I found it super relaxing.

The first session has everyone regulate their breathing, clear their minds, settle down, from feeling themselves to feeling their surroundings, slowly extending out into the farthest reaches of the universe and back. The whole process is much like meditation. If you’ve never done anything similar before you might feel a bit awkward at first, but as long as you follow the teacher’s instructions and concentrate, it’s very comfortable. When this stage ended I thought only ten minutes had passed, but it was actually a full forty minutes.

The second session has everyone walk around the classroom – solo, in groups, with rules, without rules – feeling the surroundings and feeling each other. I felt this stage was about harmonising everyone’s energy and pace.

Mirror exercises build trust.

Our teacher, Chen Guohui, happens to have a role in the play “As It Is”. He first told us to let go of logic, strip away labels, and observe the world. The whole process is quite unique – light, de‑stressing, emotionally releasing. Open yourself up, give yourself fully to the moment and to others, try some fresh behaviours. It’s perfect for stressed‑out city dwellers – temporarily toss aside all work and worries! I even felt like signing up for the full course. After all, exploring the unknown is also a way to extend your life!

Theatre Above · Stan Lai’s Theatre Creative Workshop

• Address: 5F, Theatre Above, Metro City, 1111 Zhaojiabang Road. Go up to the 2nd floor inside the theatre.

• How to sign up: Via Theatre Above’s WeChat public account, “Adult Drama Workshop” menu; there are also children’s classes.

Offline Laugh: 233 Talk Show

Here’s my favourite performer of the whole night: Liang Yanzeng

Some might ask, what’s the difference between watching talk shows online and offline? Why go to a live show?

The analogy might not be perfect, but you could think of it as the difference between watching a movie and watching a theatre play. Whether the performer is good or not, whether the emotions come through – the audience can feel it on the spot, and their feedback directly affects the person on stage.

The host Shuhuan was hilarious too.

Offline talk shows touch on much more open topics – literally no taboos – and they especially love poking at life’s sore spots. All the helplessness, setbacks, sadness, joy, happiness or unhappiness you’ve been through – someone will act it out in a funnier way for you, help you defuse it, help you hit back at life.

Some say stand‑up comedy is “the art of exposing one’s own shortcomings, an art of offence”. At the start of the show, the host of 233 asked, “How many of you are here for 233 because you couldn’t get tickets for Xiaoguo?” A sea of hands shot up from almost the entire theatre. I admit it, I was one of them.

The whole show lasted about 1.5 hours, with four performers taking turns. The atmosphere was great, the laughs plentiful, and the venue never stopped roaring. If you enjoy interaction, grab a seat right in the middle of the front row (arrive at least half an hour early). The performers will constantly call on you and banter with you. By the end, everyone in the room knew there was an Hermès reseller in the front row, and another person selling anti‑baldness shampoo online – I wonder if they found their target customers in the audience.

233 Talk Show

Lots of shows – open mics and specials. Tickets are available via their WeChat public account and the Zouqi (Go) platform. Check if any of your favourite comedians are performing. On the performer autograph wall at the entrance I spotted Xiaojia from “Rock & Roast 4”. And that’s a wrap for today’s sharing! If you have other ways to unwind, please share them in the comments!

Some images are from Karen Chen,

Mahua FunAge / Theatre Above / 233 Talk Show official channels

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