JapanNewbie in China

Harvey from JapanNewbie.com is living in China!

Sichuan Mask Performance Dinner Show in Shanghai

The other day I went to a place called Sichuan Folk in Shanghai with my family. My wife is Japanese, and she heard about the place from one of her Japanese friends. The vast majority of the customers there were Japanese.

The restaurant serves spicy Sichuan food, and at about 7:45 pm daily the guests are treated to a one-man Sichuan mask performance.

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The Sichuan mask performance involves an elaborate colorful costume, but the main attraction is the mask itself, which instantly changes with lots of flourish at various times while the performer dances. Rumor has it that the actual method used to make the mask change over and over again is an official state secret of the PRC. Cool! You can read more about the Mask Performance (called Bian Lian 变脸) on Wikipedia. 

The crowd went WILD during the show. Lots of excitement. Everyone was out of their seats piling on the staircase to get a good view and take photos. The performer then ran around the restaurant and posed with the happy customers for photos. He even changed the mask a few times with customers standing right next to him making them scream in surprise. Most of the customers were Japanese and Chinese, so you can imagine the loud chants of "Ouuuu!!!!!" "Waaaaaahhh!!!!" "Sugoiiii!!!!!" The atmosphere was really fun.

The food at the restaurant wasn't all that great. It's not overpriced though, we went with four people, ordered too much, drank, and only spent about 350 RMB.

If you've got people in town that you need to entertain and are looking for something a bit different to do in Shanghai, take them to Sichuan Folk for a fun dinner show!

Related Links:

Official Sichuan Folk website

Sichuan Mask performance on Wikipedia