On 31 December 2014, a deadly crush occurred in Shanghai, near Chen Yi Square on the Bund, where around 300,000 people had gathered for the new year celebration.

[7] However, the Shanghai police later denied social media reports that the stampede was triggered by people stopping to pick up coupons, saying that "video footage showed that the bills had been thrown after the crush took place".

[8] After the incident, the government of Shanghai formed a working group to coordinate the rescue, led by mayor Yang Xiong.

[citation needed] President and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered the Shanghai government to "go all out" in its rescue efforts.

However, the crowd was no smaller than in previous years, possibly because a scaled-down version of the light show was being held at a different venue with a similar name.

[4] Media outlets have faced criticism for publishing personal information posted online by victims or their families.