Shanghai, China / Timesnewswire / September 27, 2026 – As cutting-edge technology meets humanities and art, and millennia of Chinese traditional aesthetics collide with next-generation audio-visuals, a city-wide cultural celebration for all arrives as scheduled. The 2026 International Audio-Visual Arts Carnival will be held in Jing’an, Shanghai, from September 24 to October 18, inviting you to perceive the world through sight and sound.
As a city-wide audio-visual feast, this event combines tech experiences, immersive performances, industry summits and trend-themed social activities. Spearheaded by four flagship programs: the International Audio-Visual Arts Experience Space, the “Audio-Visual Wonderland” Immersive Show, the International Audio‑Visual Art and Technology High-End Salon, and the International Audio‑Visual Arts Gala, and joined by two signature events — the 4th “Shining · Shanghai” Jing’an International Light and Shadow Exhibition and the New Nanxi International Technology and Culture Trend Week, the carnival is backed by a full suite of city-wide extension initiatives to form a three-dimensional “1+2+N” event system. Whether you are an art lover, tech enthusiast, family visitors, or industry practitioners, you can discover your exclusive sight-and-sound experience here.
Cutting-Edge Audio-Visual Technology Takes Center Stage — Building an Interactive, Immersive Exhibition
The International Audio-Visual Arts Experience Space opens first from September 24 to 27. Gathering leading domestic and international enterprises across the audio-visual sector, the exhibition features five distinct zones: the Prologue Hall & CMG Zone, Robotics Ecosystem Exhibition Area, International Zone, Domestic Enterprise Zone, and University Zone.
Breaking away from the conventional model of a single theme and single exhibitor category, the exhibition brings together world-leading audio-visual brands, domestic sci-tech enterprises, and cutting-edge research outputs from universities. China Media Group (CMG) hosts an independent pavilion here to showcase national-level audio-visual technological achievements. Unlike traditional static board-style displays, the venue is designed to be “hands-on, interactive, and immersive” across all zones. From glasses-free 3D installations recreating a FIFA World Cup broadcast studio, to immersive film shooting experiences and 3D audio music listening sessions, a range of interactive public scenarios vividly present the most cutting-edge audio-visual technologies on offer. Children and tech enthusiasts alike can enjoy viewing, hands-on play, and learning opportunities here. At the same time, the exhibition also serves as a resource-matching platform for industry practitioners, delivering multi-dimensional value for visitors of all ages: cultural showcase, industrial implementation, and public entertainment.
Blending Virtual and Real, Interpreting Ancient and Modern Elegance — The Immersive Show Unfolds a Time-Travel Journey
The Immersive Show: “Audio-Visual Wonderland” will run in continuous rotation during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday from September 25 to 27. Breaking the conventional fixed-seating theater setup, the performance adopts a one-way closed-loop visiting route, enabling audiences to immerse themselves in three dreamlike chapters with distinctive artistic styles.
Lion Tides of Myriad Forms revitalizes the intangible cultural heritage of lion dance, bringing together performances of Southern and Northern lion dance schools. It demonstrates the agility and delicacy of Southern Lion Dance and the grand, powerful momentum of Northern Lion Dance, showcasing over seventy sets of traditional lion dance figures from across China to build a diverse “Portrait of Chinese Lion Dances”. Live lion dancers and virtual light-and-shadow lions carry out virtual-real interaction amid interlaced screens and scenes. It fully displays the artistic charm of this intangible heritage via high-pole physical sets and 3D mapping technology. Treasure Box of Time–Space assembles numerous art troupes and conservatories. Supported by bidirectional moving stages and holographic projection, it achieves virtual-reality fusion. Dunhuang flying apsaras dances, Han Dynasty variety shows, flourishing Tang Dynasty music and dance, Song-style porcelain music, Yellow River Old Tunes, and Jiangnan Kunqu are performed in sequence, tracing the context of thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Accompanied by the melody of A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, it conveys the Eastern artistic conception of family reunion during Mid-Autumn Festival. Above the Tides presents a three-dimensional Shanghai through a “Light and Shadow Magic Box”. Dancers’ body movements drive light and shadow in real time, alongside real-time interactive floor screens, laser effects and immersive set design. From river and sea tides to urban renewal, the interweaving of sound and visuals interprets Shanghai’s past and future.
Six Leading Voices from the Global Audio-Visual Industry Gather at Shanghai’s High-End Salon
The International Audio-Visual Art and Technology High-End Salon will be held from September 25 to 26, with one themed session held in the morning and afternoon each day. Tightly aligned with current industry priorities, the salon features four themed tracks: Evolution of Next-Generation Technology Systems; Deep Penetration of AI — From Tool to “Creative Subject”; Terminal Interaction — Toward “Deep Immersion, Multi-Dimensional Perception and Seamless Connection”; and Technology Breaking Boundaries, Reconstructing the New Ecosystem of Fashion Consumption.
The salon brings together academicians, top-tier creators and representatives of leading enterprises, alongside high-profile international guests including Grammy-winning audio masters and core visual effects creators behind global blockbuster hits such as The Avengers, The Lord of the Rings, and Avatar. Operating under a dual mechanism of open registration plus invitation vetting, the salon enables both industry practitioners and technology and art enthusiasts to access cutting-edge global insights and keep pace with emerging development trends in the audio-visual industry.
Tech Meets Mid-Autumn Traditional Chinese Aesthetics: Offline Mall Events Bring New Holiday Lifestyle Experiences
To bring cultural and tech experiences out of exhibition halls and into daily life, AI-Filled Mid-Autumn Festival | Audio-Visual Art “Imaginators’ Gathering” will be hosted at Jing’an Grandjoy, Shanghai from September 25 to 27. Blending Mid-Autumn traditional Chinese aesthetics with AI technology, the event creates an all-in-one holiday experience combining photo check-ins, interactive participation and leisure for visitors across the commercial precinct.
In the Light & Shadow Interaction Zone, visitors can draw on interactive screens and write their Mid-Autumn wishes, which AI will render into a giant collaborative digital scroll. They can also use AI face-swap technology to step into famous Song Dynasty paintings and generate a custom ancient-style moon-gazing digital portrait. A 270-degree curved-screen racing simulator on site delivers a track-level immersive racing experience. In the Smart Music Classroom, AI processes sheet music into visual performance cues; visitors wearing XR glasses can join a band performance with zero prior musical training. The Digital-Intelligent Exploration Zone gathers a suite of future-lifestyle interactive experiences: AI glasses supporting immersive movie viewing, first-person shooting and voice interaction; glasses-free 3D virtual companions with distinct character personalities, capable of conversation and responsive interaction; and emotion-recognition AI that requires no wearables, generating a custom emotional report by analyzing micro-expressions.
The Imaginators’ Gathering also adds a host of new interactive experiences. Chen Geng, champion of Chinese Poetry Competition, will join forces with the bionic robot “Su Shi” to share poetry interactions with on-site visitors. Attendees can also enter the dedicated Imaginators’ Gathering AR space via their mobile phones to unlock a brand-new visiting experience. On-site themed sharing sessions and China Media Group (CMG) mobile live broadcasts will allow both online and on-site audiences to feel the charm of the collision between traditional festivals and cutting-edge technology.
Following the full slate of immersive audio-visual art activities, the International Audio-Visual Arts Gala will be held on October 18 as the closing event curated by China Media Group (CMG). The gala will feature the centralized release of a selection of cutting-edge audio-visual technology achievements, alongside highlight reel performances from the immersive shows.
Registration for the event remains in high demand, with some sessions already fully booked! Log in to the “Huanxianghai GO” Mini Program for one-stop access to event registration, on-site ticket validation, route lookup, smart wristband benefits and exclusive discount vouchers. We recommend booking early to secure your spot. A dedicated online cloud photo album will also go live during the event, where visitors can find snapshots of themselves and save their own exclusive sight-and-sound memories at any time.
Between Sound and Image, Symbiosis of All Beings. From September 24 to October 18, join us for this audio-visual rendezvous.
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Atlas Story journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.