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Hong Kong
CNN
—

A year after Shanghai's raucous Halloween celebrations made headlines around the world, revelers dressed as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and cartoon superheroes were led away by police as authorities appeared to crack down on the celebrations.

Videos on social media showed a heavy police presence in three busy bar and restaurant districts in Shanghai where partygoers usually celebrate the annual tradition more associated with the United States, raising concerns about further curbs on personal freedoms in China.

Crowd control fences were erected on some streets to restrict pedestrian traffic, images on social media showed, and a park near another popular nightlife district where costumed partygoers had gathered on Saturday was also closed the next day.

The strict controls in China's most cosmopolitan city are a result of the sometimes noisy celebrations last year, when young people turned out in droves to celebrate the first Halloween since China's strict Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Many in costumes that criticize society – a rare phenomenon in a country where differences of opinion are not tolerated in any form.

This year, Chinese police appear keen to avoid similar scenes – several videos, geolocated by CNN, are circulating online showing officers stopping people in various Halloween costumes and escorting some away.

It was not clear whether they were detained or simply escorted from the immediate area. The circumstances that led to these interactions with law enforcement were also unclear. On Tuesday, some videos were still circulating on China's heavily censored internet, but others appeared to have been removed.

While some officially sanctioned Halloween celebrations, such as at Shanghai Disney Resort and Happy Valley Amusement Park, went ahead as planned, there were apparently restrictions on some visitors Halloween gatherings caught the attention of Chinese social media users this year. One user of Weibo, China's equivalent of X, noticed that her social media feed felt particularly empty.

“Was dressing up for Halloween no longer allowed on Julu Road in Shanghai this year? “How come there isn’t a single photo on my feed?” she asked, referring to a popular nightlife district. Online images geolocated by CNN showed police At one point, pedestrian traffic on Julu Road was restricted.

As in other places in Asia, such as Japan and South Korea, many young people in China view Halloween as an opportunity to dress up and meet their friends at venues that host themed events.

But Chinese state media have warned in recent years against citizens' “excessive passion” for Western festivals – part of a wider, nationalist backlash against perceived foreign influence.

Last The weekend's celebrations appeared to have ended early for a young man who wore a blonde wig and a bandage around his right ear to imitate former US President Donald Trump, according to a now-deleted post on Chinese social media platform Douyin emerges. Trump wore the bandage after a bullet hit his ear in an assassination attempt in July.

The superheroes Spiderman and Batman and a man who attracted them Wearing a yellow robe with a pearl necklace in the image of the Buddha, everyone was taken away by police, according to online videos.

CNN recently attempted to contact Shanghai authorities for comment on the number of interactions with revelers Weekend, but haven't received a response. An official at a local police station said they were not authorized to speak to the media.

In China, crowd control measures in public are not uncommon, especially on holidays, but some online users openly wondered what this would mean for future Halloween celebrations.

“(I guess) there will never be a Halloween celebration in Shanghai as innovative as the one in 2023. It will slowly lose its edginess and become harmonized,” a user wrote.

Last year's celebrations in Shanghai were marked by large crowds and revelers who used the holiday to take tongue-in-cheek digs at China's strict Covid lockdowns and weak economy.

Some dressed up as university graduates who had failed to find jobs – a reference to China's sluggish economy and high youth unemployment. Others appeared in hazmat suits in a sarcastic dig at China's strict Covid containment measures, which led to Shanghai being locked down for about two months and sparked rare protests.

This rare public criticism in a country with heavy censorship of both online debate and media and entertainment went largely unhindered last year by police, who control crowds but do not appear to proactively stop people in costumes, according to media reports.

The Shanghai city government even praised last year's Halloween celebration as “a sign of cultural tolerance.”

“Shanghai's recent Halloween celebration, with its unique blend of Western traditions and Chinese creativity, offered a glimpse into the evolving cultural landscape of a vibrant city,” it said in a statement last year.

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said last year's celebrations took place in a “vacuum” as Shanghai authorities worked on them less than a year after lifting the ban , returning to normal Covid lockdowns.

“This year the authorities are much better prepared and do not agree with such activities,” he said.