Christmas carols in supermarkets, Christmas hampers from restaurants and hotels, Christmas bargains at shopping malls and Christmas decorations in every corner of the city - this favorite Western holiday has now become one of Shanghai's more important festivals. 

Apart from marketing stunts Chinese and foreign artists have been busy interpreting the event in different styles. The Global Times has journeyed around the city to view some of the best artistic Christmas decorations.

A passer-by looks at the 6.5-meter glass bead Christmas tree at LifeHub @ Jinqiao. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

A high glass Christmas

The 6.5-meter green and white glass bead Christmas tree at LifeHub @ Jinqiao was designed by the Shanghai glass artist Xue Lü. After graduating from the University of Wolverhampton in the UK with a doctorate in glass art, Xue set up the glass studio at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art at Fudan University.

Made of recycled glass beads from beer bottles, the tree took Xue and her team more than a month to build. The craftsmen stuck thousands of glass beads on triangular boards to give the tree's leaves reindeer patterns.

"Many Christmas decorations look brilliant at night with the help of lights, but become plain and dull during the day," Xue told the Global Times. "We want to create a Christmas tree that shines all the time."

"Glass decorations are hardly ever seen in the city - they are fragile and easy to break." However, in the West glass has often been used in works of art. Xue said in the West glass was commonly used in jewelry, interior design, sculpture and fine art works. "The contemporary studio art movement in China has been developing for just a decade and we're still learning about materials and technology," Xue said.

Though China is still new to glass art, Xue is devoted to spreading its delights to ordinary people throughout the city.

LifeHub @ Jinqiao helped her set up a workshop in the lobby at weekends, where she teaches children to create their own decorations and jewelry with glass beads. "The craftsmanship is easy, but the artworks can be very varied," Xue said. The workshop is open every weekend until December 25.

Chinese actor Guo Tao and his son test the special Christmas decorations in Xintiandi and help turn on the glittering lights for the venue. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

Merry Kissmas

Following its Kiss Milan and Kiss London projects, the UK-based design company Paul Cocksedge Studio has brought a new Kiss Shanghai interactive installation to the city's fashion landmark, Xintiandi. To give this 18-meter Christmas tree local flavors, the designer Paul Cocksedge has blended Shanghai's city flower, the magnolia, and traditional Christmas mistletoe.

Couples can enjoy a real turn-on by standing on a podium by the decorations and kissing the flower ornament - this will turn the sparkling tree lights on. Fascinated by the shikumen-style buildings in the Xintiandi complex, Cocksedge has also bedecked the neighboring old houses with lights which magically enhance the red-brick buildings when all of the tree lights have come into play.

"The inspiration of this project is the very human desire to bring people together during Christmas time. So when we invite people to come on to the stage and when they kiss or make close contact, it's like the tree is inspired to bring people together on this special occasion, Christmas," Cocksedge told the Global Times.

Born in London in 1978, Cocksedge studied industrial design at Sheffield Hallam University and product design under Ron Arad at the Royal College of Art in London.

Children enjoy a happy moment at the Christmas playground in LifeHub @ Anting. Photo: Courtesy of the venue

Somewhere to play

LifeHub @ Anting in Jiading district has set up a Christmas playground where children can celebrate the coming holiday.

The 6-meter Christmas tree in the lobby of the shopping center has been created from hundreds of recycled gift boxes, most made from corrugated fiberboard.

On the red and green ramps around the tree the Chinese multimedia artist Feng Jiangzhou has placed eight different amplifiers and keys so that when children move on the ramps they create a range of unique and fun sounds.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and Shanghai fashion designer Lu Kun's sketches for their polka dot Christmas tree at the Pudong Shangri-La. Photo: Courtesy of the venue

Dotty inspirations

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama joined up with Shanghai fashion designer Lu Kun to create a 4.5-meter Christmas tree at the Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai in Lujiazui area.

Famous for her polka dot obsession, Kusama has integrated these into the Christmas decorations which feature bright yellow bows with black dots, red baubles with black dots and a tree-topping star with dots.

This 84-year-old avant-garde artist will also bring her first solo exhibition in Asia to the city on December 15. Entitled A Dream I Dreamed, this exhibition will be seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai in People's Park.

Christmas kaleidoscopic patterns and colors brighten the walls and escalators in the K11 shopping mall. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

Kaleidoscopic fun

The art shopping mall K11 on Huaihai Road Middle invited Shanghai artist Liu Zhenchen to design the Christmas decorations for the venue.

Instead of a traditional fancy Christmas tree, Liu decided to use kaleidoscopic patterns to create a dazzling and fun-filled festive ambience. Liu has used continuous lines and repeated colors to render the amplified patterns of a kaleidoscope. The massive graphic designs have been placed on the glass walls, escalators and the domes of the mall and the bold colors and vivid patterns will remind many of childhood colors and patterns and the childhood joys of simple and original delights.