How to Buy Concert and Show Tickets in Shanghai (2026)
Every live ticket in China is tied to one person's ID, so the work happens before the on-sale: get your passport into the app and add every attendee in advance.
Every ticket in China is tied to one person's ID, and yours has to be your passport. You register on a ticketing app with your passport details before tickets go on sale, buy in your own name, and bring the same passport to the door. Damai is the main platform and now issues tickets under each attendee's own name. Tickets bought in someone else's name will not get you in.
The first time I tried to buy tickets here I did what you do at home: found the event, added two tickets, and assumed I would sort out who was coming later. That is not how this works, and the sooner you internalise the real-name system the less money you will lose. Here is the whole thing, in order.
Why can I not just buy a ticket and hand it to a friend?
Because China runs real-name ticketing on live events. Each ticket carries the ID number of the person who will attend, and that ID is checked against your document at the entrance. It was introduced to kill the scalping market, and it works, which is why the resale culture you may be used to barely exists here.
The practical consequences are the ones that catch people:
- You enter each attendee's real ID details at the moment of purchase, not afterwards.
- The document you register has to be the document you bring. For foreigners that means your passport, and it has to be the same passport, so a renewal between booking and the show is a genuine problem worth calling customer service about.
- Buying a spare ticket to sell on later does not work. You are buying a ticket that only one named person can use.
Since the start of 2026, Damai has run a personal ticket service that shows each attendee their own real-name ticket under their own account, rather than everyone depending on screenshots from whoever paid. If you are going in a group, everyone should now be able to see their own entry.
Which app should I use?
Damai is the dominant platform for concerts, music festivals, theatre and sport, and has the widest inventory by a distance. It is the default answer.
Maoyan is the other major option and is often the easier starting point for foreigners, partly because it is reachable as a mini-programme inside WeChat rather than requiring a separate app and registration flow.
Whichever you choose, do the boring part early. Install it, register, and get your passport details into your profile before the on-sale date of something you care about. Filling in passport fields while a popular show sells out in ninety seconds is how people miss out. This is the single most useful sentence in this guide.
Museums and many attractions run on their own WeChat mini-programmes rather than on ticketing platforms, which is a different flow again; our guide to Shanghai museums worth visiting covers booking those, including the free entry days.
How do I actually get through an on-sale?
Popular shows sell out in seconds, and the people beating you to it have prepared. Do the same.
- Register and verify well ahead. Passport details in the profile, payment method linked and working, delivery or collection preference already chosen.
- Add every attendee before the on-sale. Most platforms let you save multiple attendee profiles. Enter your friends' passport details in advance so you are selecting names, not typing documents, when the clock starts.
- Set the reminder. On-sale times are exact. Be in the app several minutes early with the event page already open.
- Know your price tier before you start. Deciding between seating levels during the sale costs you the sale.
- Expect the queue. Being held in a waiting room is normal and not a failure; leaving and re-entering usually puts you further back.
If you miss out, official resale within the platform is the only route worth using. Street resellers and WeChat groups offering tickets are selling something registered to somebody else's ID, which will not admit you.
What are the refund rules?
Tighter than you are probably used to, and worth reading before you commit several hundred RMB.
Some events are sold with a refund option attached, which typically allows a refund where no ticket in the order has been used. Where that option exists it is stated on the event page at the time of purchase, so look for it before you buy rather than hoping afterwards.
As a general pattern, refunds are not available close to the event date, with a cut-off commonly around ten days before. Genuine exceptional circumstances, such as documented medical reasons, are handled case by case through customer service rather than automatically.
If the organiser cancels, you are refunded in full, including delivery charges where those applied. Refunds are returned along the original payment path and take some business days to appear.
The honest summary: treat a ticket here as a firm commitment rather than a provisional plan. Check the refund terms on the specific event page, because they vary by promoter and the platform's default is not generous.
What do I bring on the night?
The passport you booked with. Not a photograph of it, not a residence permit card instead, not a different passport. The physical document whose number is on the ticket.
Arrive earlier than you would at home. Real-name checking means every attendee is verified individually at the door, and entry queues for a large venue move more slowly than the crowd size suggests. Thirty to forty minutes before the start is sensible for a big show.
Bags are usually checked, and large venues often restrict professional cameras, outside drinks and sometimes power banks. The event page lists restrictions, and it is worth a look, because the cloakroom queue at a sold-out arena is its own event.
Which one is for you
If you are new here and want the lowest-friction route, use Maoyan inside WeChat and get your passport into the profile today.
If you are chasing a specific in-demand act, use Damai, because that is where the inventory is, and accept that you will need to prepare properly for the on-sale.
If you are booking a museum, exhibition or attraction rather than a show, go to that venue's own WeChat mini-programme instead, where you will often find timed entry and sometimes free days.
Where do I find out what is on?
Shanghai's live calendar is dense and moves quickly. We keep a running picture of what is worth your evening in our guide to what is actually on in Shanghai, and the city's heritage lanes and open-air spaces are worth knowing about for the nights when you do not want a ticket at all; Zhangyuan in Jing'an is free to walk into and stays open into the evening.
For getting home afterwards, remember the metro stops earlier than the encore on some lines, which our guide to getting around Shanghai without a car covers in more detail.
Common questions
Can I buy concert tickets in China without a Chinese ID card?
Yes. Foreign passports are accepted as the real-name document on the major ticketing platforms. You register the passport in your profile and it becomes the ID tied to your ticket.
Can I use Damai with a foreign phone number?
Registration flows vary and have historically been easier with a Chinese mobile number, which most residents here have anyway. If you hit a wall, Maoyan through WeChat is the common workaround.
Can I sell a ticket I cannot use?
Not privately, because the ticket is bound to the original attendee's ID and will not admit anyone else. Check whether the platform offers an official resale or refund route for that specific event.
What happens if my passport number changes before the show?
Contact the platform's customer service ahead of the event rather than turning up and explaining at the door. This is a known situation and there is usually a process, but it needs handling in advance.
Do I need to print my ticket?
Usually not. Most events are entered on the strength of your ID document plus the ticket in the app, though some still issue physical tickets for collection. The event page will say which applies.