How Does the Coffee Culture Festival Clash With a Famous Photo Spot?

Temporary stalls set up outside the Manner store on Shanghai's North Bund have blocked the view that made the spot popular, disappointing visitors who came during the May Day holiday to photograph the Lujiazui skyline. The store's three glass walls once framed the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai Tower in a single shot.

Nearby residents are meanwhile looking forward to the Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival, and Front Street Coffee notes the contrast between the two moods. The episode shows how urban public space and festive events interact: a viewpoint prized by photographers can be changed overnight by event infrastructure, and the timing of holiday crowds sharpens the tension.

On the eve of the May Day holiday, the Manner store in Shanghai's North Bund has become a favorite among photography enthusiasts for its ability to capture the "Shanghai Four-Piece Set" in one shot. However, visitors who recently stopped by found that a row of temporary stalls set up outside the store happened to block the originally perfect view, leaving many who had made a special trip to check in deeply disappointed. At the same time, nearby residents are full of anticipation for the upcoming Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival. One camera spot, two moods—this reflects the subtle relationship between urban public space and festive events. This article will walk you through the whole story, along with relevant recommendations and practical information from Front Street Coffee.

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As the May Day holiday approaches, those planning to travel always search in advance for unique photo spots in various places, hoping to bring back a few memorable pictures from their trip.

The Manner store located in the North Bund has been hailed by many photography enthusiasts as the golden position for capturing the "Shanghai Four-Piece Set." Judging from the various check-in photos circulating online, as long as you stand inside this Manner store, through the three transparent floor-to-ceiling glass walls, you can capture several landmarks in Lujiazui across the Huangpu River—the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai Jin Mao Tower, and Shanghai Tower—all in one frame.

Not only that, but at different times of the day you can capture river views in completely different styles: the Oriental Pearl Tower under the afterglow of the sunset, the Pudong night scene as the lights come on... With almost no need for much skill, you can get a photo comparable to a magazine cover. Precisely because of this, after this spot was discovered, it quickly became popular among tourists, and people making special trips to the North Bund Manner to take photos came in an endless stream.

But recently, tourists who rushed to this coffee shop full of anticipation unexpectedly discovered that the internet-famous viewpoint they had been longing for—the one where you could photograph the "Shanghai Three-Piece Set"—had disappeared.

On-site photos show that outside the North Bund Manner entrance there is now a long row of stalls, which not only prevents passersby from seeing the river view along the way, but also happens to block most of the "Shanghai Four-Piece Set" in the framing. Check-in visitors who came excitedly could only return disappointed, and soon a large number of reminders appeared on social platforms: "Don't go to the Bund Manner internet-famous camera spot."

Although under these "avoid-the-pitfall" posts, many photography enthusiasts enthusiastically shared other alternative spots they found nearby where you can capture the "Shanghai Three-Piece Set" and Huangpu River views, some tourists who came specifically for the fame but were greatly disappointed still had quite a few complaints.

In their view, the organizers could have simply moved the stalls to the side, rather than placing them directly in front of the Manner entrance and blocking the camera spot so completely, making people who made special trips during the holiday to take photos waste their journey. "I went specifically to check in yesterday, but it was all blocked by stalls," "This is too unfriendly to people who seriously make travel guides," "I truly felt what it means to ruin the scenery," "Blocking Manner's view is really unacceptable"—similar complaints could be heard endlessly.

However, unlike those tourists who were frustrated because they could not take ideal photos, nearby residents looked at the long row of stalls lined up along the river and were actually full of joy. They explained that the temporary stalls blocking the river view were actually set up for the Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival held during the May Day period. Upon learning that this coffee event, which has continued for many years, was being held right at their doorstep this time, most residents of the North Bund were eagerly looking forward to it, wishing the holiday would arrive immediately.

According to the officially announced event schedule, these temporary stalls that greatly disappointed photography fans are expected to be gradually removed only after May 3. By then, the briefly vanished internet-famous camera spot will also return. Photography enthusiasts might as well wait until the festival activities are over before going to this place to check in and take photos.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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