Now that winter is almost over, Shanghai is coming into its own once again. There are new restaurants and bars cropping up all around town, and plenty of events to sink your teeth into.

Eden bar and restaurant. Photo: daodao.com

New openings…

Up in Jing'an District, the 800 Show complex has a new addition in the form of wine bar and brasserie Indulge. With simple décor, a wine list of reasonably priced French, Spanish and American varietals, and a food menu of French and Italian food, it's a good addition to the area.

Rents on Yongkang Lu may have doubled over the past twelve months, but new venues are still opening up. Hoping to attract the same success as Sailors, a second fish and chip shop has recently been established. It's called Catch! and it's at number 63. At number 21-23, a new branch of popular sushi spot Sushi-O has opened, with the same menu of affordable rolls as its original hole-in-the-wall on Yanqing Lu.

Maoming Lu's District B hasn't had the best reputation for sustaining restaurants, but Fudede has stepped into the ring to try its luck. The menu focuses on Shanghainese cuisine, including crab xiaolongbao and braised pork, and the décor is traditional.

As for nightlife, the new bar that's making waves is Eden (4/F, 760 Nanjing Xi Lu). Opened by the people behind Monkey Lounge, expect the same upscale clientele but a bit more room to lounge around and dance. Catering to a mixed local and ABC crowd, Eden specialises in table-service, bottles of Grey Goose and champagne, served up on deep, inviting sofas and leather armchairs.

Closings…

Thai Aroma (Central Plaza, Unit 103, 227 Huangpi Bei Lu) has closed its doors, and the space has been taken over by Kebabs on the Grille. Another sad loss is Indian Kitchen's Yongjia Lu branch, and upscale Chinese restaurant Tan Wai Lou inside Bund 18 has also shut up shop.

There's more change afoot in the Muse nightclub group, with the original venue moving from New Factories in Jing'an to a Bund location later this spring.

DJ Rob Swift. Photo: ac3festival.com

What's On…

The 10th edition of the Shanghai International Literary Festival starts on March 2nd, running for three weeks with talks and workshops from the likes of Matt Groening and Amy Tan. – Check out our top picks from the line-up here.

Running concurrently (March 9th to 25th) is JUE Festival – an annual arts extravaganza run by Split Works. Held at various venues all around the city, the events range from small exhibitions to big concerts. The main draw is world-famous indie band Death Cab for Cutie. Each event organiser sets their own entrance fee, keeping all the profits. This means that tickets range in price from 10 RMB to 130 RMB.

March has something for the foodies too thanks to Shanghai Restaurant Week (March 5th – 11th), during which a long list of restaurants offer special lunch and dinner sets at reduced prices (78/168 RMB or 118/248 RMB). Participating venues include Glo, Goga, Le Sheng, Downstairs, Otto e Mezzo Bombano. Check the official website for more details.

One of the world's best and most famous ensembles, the London Symphony Orchestra, is in town on March 4th and 5th with programmes including Britten, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. The concerts take place at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and tickets go from 280 RMB up to 2880 RMB.

In other music news, Canadian punk band Sum 41 is finally confirmed to play on April 6th at Shanghai Grand Stage (tickets 180 – 1280 RMB). On the scene since 1999, the group has won a slew of Grammies and toured extensively.

In the news…

After several phases of development, the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) is finished. The new expo centre now has a total of 17 column-free exhibition halls covering 200,000 square meters, plus 100,000 square metres of outdoor space. Since SNIEC first opened in 2001, it has hosted around 80 shows each year, and is one of the world's most successful exhibition centres.

If you have friends in town, you'll now be able to buy them a convenient three-day metro ticket. As of March 1st, Shanghai Metro will be issuing tickets covering 72-hours for 45 RMB, allowing holders to take unlimited journeys. You'll be able to keep the ticket as a souvenir after you've finished with it.

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Keywords: Shanghai news and events Shanghai literary festival 2012 Shanghai 2012 performances new 2012 openings Shanghai Jue Festival Shanghai