不人气的大狸子
Tanuki
By the time you read this article, I should be on the high-speed train from Shanghai to Nanjing. In any case, the impact of Shanghai THO on me has not faded.
August 9th, 2025, is the day of Shanghai THO. As the oldest and largest Touhou Only event in China, Shanghai THO has become a representative of the Chinese Touhou community, It's like the Chinese Reitaisai.
The venue for this year's Shanghai THO is smaller than last year's, located on the 9th floor of the Zhengda Mall near Lujiazui, the financial center of Shanghai, right next to the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower. According to the event organizers, the number of visitors has not decreased compared to last year, with approximately 3,000 attendees. Additionally, nearly 200 doujin circles set up booths, including well-known Japanese music circles such as Yuuhei Satellite and ShinRa-Bansho.
I arrived at the venue around 7 o'clock, but due to coordination issues between the organizers and the venue, I was unable to enter the event hall. It wasn't until after 8 o'clock that I was able to get inside and join the queue. This is almost a regular occurrence at every Shanghai THO, and the main organizer, 囧仙 (whom I will introduce later as the "Emperor" of the Chinese Touhou community), bears a significant responsibility for this.
The mall was originally scheduled to open at 10 o'clock, so when we arrived, the elevators were not in operation. With incredible determination, we climbed up to the 9th floor, which put us in a good position in the queue, though there were countless people behind me still waiting in line.
Shanghai THO offers three tiers of tickets: General tickets, Special tickets, and VIP tickets. The first two types mainly differ in the gifts provided, while VIP ticket holders can enter the venue 30 minutes earlier (at 9:30 AM). This is a significant difference compared to THO events in other regions.
Tickets for Shanghai THO were hard to come by, and I managed to snag the last special offer ticket for about $17.99.
Interestingly, while I was in line, I noticed Touhou fans from Japan and Korea, which surprised me. At the same time, it proved the saying "Touhou knows no borders."
Around 10 o'clock, I successfully entered the venue. The first thing that caught my eye was the wide variety of doujin clubs. Typically, THO in other regions, there are no more than 50 clubs, but the massive scale of Shanghai THO is more than enough to meet all your needs for Touhou doujin products.
Interestingly, most visitors headed straight for the Japanese doujin clubs, while the Chinese clubs were nearly ignored in the first hour after the opening. In addition, the Fumo specialty store also had a long queue.
This year's Shanghai THO did not have a designated photography area, and cosplayers and visitors walked together through the various doujin streets. This is probably the most noticeable difference compared to Reitaisai. Although some cosplayers' props did obstruct movement (such as those of Reiuji Utsuho, Flandre Scarlet, and Kisin Sagume), it didn't seem to stop the crowds from mixing and mingling.
The cosplay mainly featured popular characters such as Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu, but there were also cosplays of other characters. Notably, there were many cosplays from the PC-98 games.
Unfortunately, the lighting at the venue wasn't ideal, and the lighting setup couldn't improve the situation. One of my photographer friends even angrily scolded the organizer, 囧仙. Other photographers chose to take pictures of the cosplayers outside the exhibition area.
The doujin circles were mainly divided into three categories: doujin products, doujin music, and regional clubs. The first two categories are easy to understand, while the third category consists of doujin clubs formed by THO organizing committees from other regions or Touhou fans from universities, reflecting Shanghai THO's role in "uniting communities."
I'm not interested in doujin products that aren't related to Mamizou, so I hardly bought anything. The doujin clubs claim to be non-profit, highlighting the spirit of doujin, but they don't give lesser-known characters the same level of attention as popular ones.
I saw a message from a Korean Touhou fan on the autograph wall, and he belongs to the Touhou community at Kyoto University.
Shanghai THO doesn't have the STG relay, Hisoutensoku competition, character and music recognition segments that are commonly seen at THO events in other regions, nor does it have a free stage. It feels more like a pure merchandise sales event. However, some attendees spontaneously started playing instruments on-site.
Before I left, I took a photo with the main organizer of Shanghai THO, 囧仙, who is also the de facto leader of the Chinese Touhou community. While I was aware of the endless online criticisms and dissatisfaction towards him, in the photo with me, I could see a hint of helplessness in his expression, as if from an adult burdened by responsibility.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to close at 4 p.m., but I left after 2 p.m. to attend an Touhou jazz performance. A question kept turning in my mind: Is this the Shanghai THO I've always imagined? Perhaps only I know the answer.
I'm not a big fan of buying Doujin products, so even though the atmosphere at THO Shanghai was great, I still didn't feel immersed in it. But no matter what, my long-cherished wish has finally come true. I participated in the Shanghai THO, and I will always remember it in my heart.
As for the later plot, I watched the famous 幻奏盛宴, but since it is too professional, it is beyond my scope to comment on it, so I will not go into details here.
My photography skills are not very good, but I can share some of the cosplay photos I took here if you are willing.
August 9th, 2025, is the day of Shanghai THO. As the oldest and largest Touhou Only event in China, Shanghai THO has become a representative of the Chinese Touhou community, It's like the Chinese Reitaisai.
The venue for this year's Shanghai THO is smaller than last year's, located on the 9th floor of the Zhengda Mall near Lujiazui, the financial center of Shanghai, right next to the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower. According to the event organizers, the number of visitors has not decreased compared to last year, with approximately 3,000 attendees. Additionally, nearly 200 doujin circles set up booths, including well-known Japanese music circles such as Yuuhei Satellite and ShinRa-Bansho.
I arrived at the venue around 7 o'clock, but due to coordination issues between the organizers and the venue, I was unable to enter the event hall. It wasn't until after 8 o'clock that I was able to get inside and join the queue. This is almost a regular occurrence at every Shanghai THO, and the main organizer, 囧仙 (whom I will introduce later as the "Emperor" of the Chinese Touhou community), bears a significant responsibility for this.
The mall was originally scheduled to open at 10 o'clock, so when we arrived, the elevators were not in operation. With incredible determination, we climbed up to the 9th floor, which put us in a good position in the queue, though there were countless people behind me still waiting in line.
Shanghai THO offers three tiers of tickets: General tickets, Special tickets, and VIP tickets. The first two types mainly differ in the gifts provided, while VIP ticket holders can enter the venue 30 minutes earlier (at 9:30 AM). This is a significant difference compared to THO events in other regions.
Tickets for Shanghai THO were hard to come by, and I managed to snag the last special offer ticket for about $17.99.
Interestingly, while I was in line, I noticed Touhou fans from Japan and Korea, which surprised me. At the same time, it proved the saying "Touhou knows no borders."
Around 10 o'clock, I successfully entered the venue. The first thing that caught my eye was the wide variety of doujin clubs. Typically, THO in other regions, there are no more than 50 clubs, but the massive scale of Shanghai THO is more than enough to meet all your needs for Touhou doujin products.
Interestingly, most visitors headed straight for the Japanese doujin clubs, while the Chinese clubs were nearly ignored in the first hour after the opening. In addition, the Fumo specialty store also had a long queue.
This year's Shanghai THO did not have a designated photography area, and cosplayers and visitors walked together through the various doujin streets. This is probably the most noticeable difference compared to Reitaisai. Although some cosplayers' props did obstruct movement (such as those of Reiuji Utsuho, Flandre Scarlet, and Kisin Sagume), it didn't seem to stop the crowds from mixing and mingling.
The cosplay mainly featured popular characters such as Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu, but there were also cosplays of other characters. Notably, there were many cosplays from the PC-98 games.
Unfortunately, the lighting at the venue wasn't ideal, and the lighting setup couldn't improve the situation. One of my photographer friends even angrily scolded the organizer, 囧仙. Other photographers chose to take pictures of the cosplayers outside the exhibition area.
The doujin circles were mainly divided into three categories: doujin products, doujin music, and regional clubs. The first two categories are easy to understand, while the third category consists of doujin clubs formed by THO organizing committees from other regions or Touhou fans from universities, reflecting Shanghai THO's role in "uniting communities."
I'm not interested in doujin products that aren't related to Mamizou, so I hardly bought anything. The doujin clubs claim to be non-profit, highlighting the spirit of doujin, but they don't give lesser-known characters the same level of attention as popular ones.
I saw a message from a Korean Touhou fan on the autograph wall, and he belongs to the Touhou community at Kyoto University.
Shanghai THO doesn't have the STG relay, Hisoutensoku competition, character and music recognition segments that are commonly seen at THO events in other regions, nor does it have a free stage. It feels more like a pure merchandise sales event. However, some attendees spontaneously started playing instruments on-site.
Before I left, I took a photo with the main organizer of Shanghai THO, 囧仙, who is also the de facto leader of the Chinese Touhou community. While I was aware of the endless online criticisms and dissatisfaction towards him, in the photo with me, I could see a hint of helplessness in his expression, as if from an adult burdened by responsibility.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to close at 4 p.m., but I left after 2 p.m. to attend an Touhou jazz performance. A question kept turning in my mind: Is this the Shanghai THO I've always imagined? Perhaps only I know the answer.
I'm not a big fan of buying Doujin products, so even though the atmosphere at THO Shanghai was great, I still didn't feel immersed in it. But no matter what, my long-cherished wish has finally come true. I participated in the Shanghai THO, and I will always remember it in my heart.
As for the later plot, I watched the famous 幻奏盛宴, but since it is too professional, it is beyond my scope to comment on it, so I will not go into details here.
My photography skills are not very good, but I can share some of the cosplay photos I took here if you are willing.
