The holidays come early for Harry Potter fans when a slice of Hogwarts takes over the Super Brand Mall. Since premiering at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry six years ago, Harry Potter: The Exhibition has traveled the world, dazzling over three million people.
Stretching 1,400 square meters, the exhibition boasts costumes, props and sets from the hit series, carefully selected over three years.
Immediately, guests enter the world of Hogwarts. Unlike Harry, they are able to select which of the school’s four houses they would like to join: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin or Gryffindor.
Once a choice is made, guests get to explore some of the series’ most iconic settings. With the right password, you’ll be able to pass through the frame of the Fat Lady Painting. There, you’ll discover a room full of the costumes worn by some of Gryffindor’s most famous students, like Hermione Granger’s gown from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry’s school uniform.
Other settings like the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid’s Hut have been faithfully recreated, down to the giant-sized armchair guests are invited to sit in. Make sure to stick around to see what’s cooking – or more accurately, what’s hatching.
Interactive activities like the Quidditch Area and Herbology Class will be a big hit with the little ones, with guests encouraged to toss a Quaffle ball or pull out their own Mandrake.
Harry Potter: The Exhibition also provides a revealing glimpse behind the curtain in movie making. Props from the films like the giant pawn chess piece seen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonehighlight the amazing craftsmanship exhibited throughout the movies.
Costumes displayed include robes worn by Lord Voldemort, Headmaster Dumbledore and the feared Death Eaters. Models of Dobby, Fawkes and the Dementor will also be shown.
Fans of the film, young and old, will get an immense treat seeing props from the film up close, like the Deathly Hallows display case, Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes and the time-turner memorably used inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
And while all these mega-exhibitions inevitably end at the gift shop, Harry Potter: The Exhibition does so in style, bringing to life Diagon Alley - the famed London shopping street accessible only to wizards in the film.
> Dec 5-Feb 28, 10am-1pm; 2-5pm; 6-9pm, RMB170 (RMB130 for students, RMB400 for two parents and one child, RMB450 for three). Super Brand Mall, 9/F, 168 Lujiazui Xi Lu, by Lujiazui Huan Lu 陆家嘴西路168号, 近陆家嘴环路 (400 610 3721, en.damai.cn)