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Monday, December 7, 2015

'Tis the Season for Star Wars in China

Signs of Christmas are easy to find in China this time of the year, and in the past I have shared holiday scenes from Putian, Quanzhou, Wuhan, Zhangzhou, and Hong Kong. But none of them included TIE fighters or Imperial Stormtroopers. The idea of mixing Christmas with Star Wars will make some people cringe with memories of the fascinatingly terrible 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. But at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai the two have been combined in a more harmonious manner to promote the upcoming release of Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Some people will still cringe due to the further commercialization of Christmas, but in China most people attach little or no religious meaning to the holiday and the government has more concerns about the potential "religionization" of Christmas.

Below are scenes at the shopping center from this past weekend, including Friday when several of the Star Wars displays were still roped off. Christmas trees with light sabers, starfighters, female models wearing Star Wars themed clothing, armed Star Wars figures, and an unarmed Santa Claus (unless you count his bell) all make appearances. Many of the photos capture the variety of people who interacted with the displays or the modern design of the shopping center itself. IAPM couldn't be more different from the simple outdoor market which existed at the same location less than 10 years ago and sold fakes imitating some of the luxury brands now available at posh stores there. The shopping center, its visitors, and Disney's new hopes in China are all signs of how much the country has changed since the first Star Wars movie opened 38 years ago in a land far, far away. . . .


Star Wars Stormtrooper with a gun at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars Christmas display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


little girl looking at a Star Wars display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young man taking a selfie with a Star Wars Stormtrooper at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


man taking a selfie in front of a Star Wars display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


elderly man taking a photo of a Star Wars display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


woman photographing a child in front of an X-wing fighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars TIE fighter and Stormtroopers at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


X-wing fighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


woman posing with a light saber at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


man posing with a light saber at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars display and Christmas tree at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


woman posing with a Star Wars stormtrooper at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


boy posing for photo with femal Star Wars models and life size statues at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman posing with a Star Wars Stormtropper at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Large Star Wars Christmas tree ornament at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars TIE fighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


little girl posing for photo in front of a Star Wars X-wing fighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


little girl posing for a photo with two female models at the Star Wars promotion at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young man and woman posing with Santa Claus at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman posing for a photo with Santa Claus in front of Star Wars display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman posing with a Star Wars Stormtrooper at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars TIE fighters at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


boy touching a Star Wars Stormtrooper's gun at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


posing for a photo in front of a Star Wars Christmas tree at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman photographing a small model of a Star Wars starfighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


small model of the Millennium Falcon at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman with a baby posing for a photo in front of a Star Wars display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman posing with Santa Claus in front of a Star Wars TIE fighter at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


elderly woman posing for a photograph with a female Star Wars model and a Stormtrooper at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


young woman wearing a ping New York Yankees hat looking at a Star Wars light saber display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


man posing with a light saber at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


man taking a photograph of a Star Wars Stormtrooper head at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Darth Vader's head at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


C3PO's head on display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars Christmas display at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai


Star Wars Stormtrooper with gun and man using a camera at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed a smaller and less Christmas themed Star Wars display at a mall in Guangzhou this weekend. It was great fun, got to have a little light saber fight with a friend :)

    Haven't seen any big displays in Haikou as of yet...

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  2. Sounds fun. The light sabers at the IAPM were fixed, so I missed out on any battles.

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