The police escorted the Buddha down the street, one officer steering him with both hands. They hurried a giant poop emoji out of a cheering dance circle in a public park. They also pounced on Donald J. Trump with a bandaged ear, and pushed a Kim Kardashian look-alike, in a tight black dress and pearls, into a police van, while she turned and waved to a crowd of onlookers.

警察在街头护送佛祖离开，一名警察用双手引导着他。他们匆忙地将一个巨大的便便表情符号从公园里一个欢呼着、围成一圈跳舞的人群中带出。他们还扑向耳朵包扎着绷带的特朗普，并将一名身穿紧身黑裙、戴着珍珠项链的模仿金·卡戴珊的人推上了警车，她在上车前转身向围观的人群挥了挥手。

The authorities in Shanghai were on high alert this past weekend, against a pressing threat: Halloween.

上周末，上海当局为了应对一个迫在眉睫的威胁——万圣节——而处于高度戒备状态。

Officials there clamped down on Halloween celebrations this year, after many young people turned last year’s festivities into a rare public outlet for political or social criticism. People had poured into the streets dressed up as Covid testing workers, to mock the three years of lockdowns they had just endured; they plastered themselves in job advertisements, amid a weak employment market; they cross-dressed, seizing the opportunity to express L.G.B.T.Q. identities without being stigmatized.

今年，当地官员对万圣节庆祝活动严加限制，因为许多年轻人把去年的庆祝活动变成了一个罕见的政治或社会批评的公开渠道。很多人打扮成新冠检测人员涌上街头，嘲弄他们刚刚经历过的三年新冠封控；在就业市场疲软的时候，他们在自己身上贴满招聘广告；他们进行变装打扮，抓住这个机会表达对LGBTQ的身份认同，而不会受人羞辱。

At the time, many on Chinese social media celebrated the revelries as a joyous form of collective therapy. The Shanghai government even issued a news release saying the celebrations were proof of the city’s “cultural tolerance” and the “wisdom of its urban managers.”

当时，中国社交媒体上有许多人将那场狂欢视为某种欢乐形式的集体心理治疗。上海市政府甚至发新闻稿称，那些庆祝活动证明了这座城市的“文化宽容”，以及“城市管理者的智慧”。

“There is an absence of festivals in China solely dedicated to the simple pleasures of having fun,” it said. “Halloween has filled the void.”

“中国缺少庆祝淳朴乐趣的节日，”新闻稿写道。“万圣节填补了这一空白。”

But the authorities have grown increasingly restrictive toward personal expression in recent years, including seemingly apolitical expression. They are also wary of impromptu crowds, especially after the anti-lockdown protests in 2022. And so, for all their praise last year, this year they seemed determined to prevent a repeat.

但近年来，包括看似非政治性的表达在内，当局已对各种形式的个人表达进行了越来越严格的限制。当局也对即兴聚集的人群保持警惕，尤其是在2022年发生了反封控抗议活动后。因此，尽管他们去年对万圣节活动大加赞扬，但今年看来已决心防止其再次发生。

Around Julu Road, a popular area where most people had congregated last year, guardrails had been erected, blocking off the sidewalks. Flanks of police lined the street and subway entrances. When they saw someone in costume, according to videos and photos on social media verified by The New York Times, they hustled them out of view.

作为万圣节活动的热门地点，巨鹿路是大多数参加活动的人聚集的地点。今年，巨鹿路沿街已竖起了护栏，将人行道与车行道隔开。街道两侧和地铁口都有警察站岗。据经《纽约时报》核实的社交媒体上的视频和照片，当他们看到带有装束的人时，会把他们赶走。

The police did not appear to be approaching people who were not in costume.

警察似乎并没有驱赶没有装扮的人。

“If you have a costume, you’ll be immediately taken away,” a popular blogger who uses the name Zhe Ying — who went viral last Halloween for her impression of a famous singer — said in a livestream on Friday. Still wearing heavy makeup after having dressed up as an empress, she said she had just been released from “having tea,” a common euphemism for interactions with the police. “If you wanted to go out on the streets, you might as well just return your clothing.”

“如果你有装扮，你会被立即带走，”热门博主这英在上周五的一个直播中说。这英在去年的万圣节上因模仿一位著名歌手而走红。她今年是清宫造型，脸上还是化了浓妆。她说，她被警察带走“喝茶”，刚放出来。“喝茶”是警察对公民进行询问的常用委婉说法。“如果你们想去大街上，衣服该退退吧。”

On several Chinese social media platforms, searches for terms such as “Shanghai Halloween” or “Shanghai Julu Road” returned no results or only limited ones from several months ago.

在几个中国社交媒体平台上搜索“上海万圣节”或“上海巨鹿路”等词条，或没有得到任何结果，或只有几个月前的少数结果。

The Shanghai government did not make any public announcements about Halloween, though the city’s Zhongshan Park, where many people had gathered on Saturday, abruptly announced later that night that the park would be closed the next day for “internal reasons.” A Shanghai government spokeswoman did not reply to requests for comment.

上海市政府没有对万圣节发表任何公告，但上周六，有许多人聚集的中山公园在当晚晚些时候突然宣布，公园将在次日因“内部原因”关闭。上海市政府的发言人没有回复记者的置评请求。

Videos in another city, Hangzhou, also showed some people dressed as Deadpool, Batman and the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing being escorted away by police. In Beijing, some Halloween events were canceled as well.

来自另一座城市杭州的视频也显示，一些人扮成死侍、蝙蝠侠和中国女演员范冰冰的人被警察带走。北京的一些万圣节活动也被取消。

Warnings that Shanghai’s Halloween celebrations this year would be limited by the authorities had already begun circulating before the holiday weekend. After an influencer posted a video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, in mid-October to tell people which areas would likely be the most lively, two police officers came to her home last week to tell her to delete it, she said.

在万圣节前的周末到来之前，有关当局将限制上海今年的万圣节活动的警告就已经开始在网上流传。一名网红10月中旬曾在抖音上发布了一段视频，告诉人们哪些地方可能会是最热闹的。她说，视频发布后，两名警察上周来到她家，让她将视频从网上删掉。

The influencer, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the police gave crowd control as the reason, but she didn’t believe them.

因为害怕报复，这名网红不愿透露姓名。她说，警方给出的理由是控制人流，但她不相信警察的说法。

Restaurants and bars in Shanghai were also told by the authorities not to host Halloween events, or at least not to advertise them openly as such, staff at three different venues confirmed by phone.

在上海，当局还告诉餐馆和酒吧不要举办万圣节活动，或者至少不要公开宣传万圣节活动，三家不同场所的工作人员通过电话证实了这个说法。

“So sad,” Michael Luo, a bar owner, said in a video he posted on social media. “It’s obviously a very happy holiday. Even though it’s foreign culture, it’s still quite fun.”

“太伤心了，”酒吧老板迈克尔·罗（音）在发布于社交媒体上的视频中说。“这明显地是个非常愉快的节日。虽然是外国文化，但还是很有趣的。”

Not long afterward, Mr. Luo said in an interview, the police told him, too, to delete his video. He estimated that the restrictions had resulted in an 80 or 90 percent drop in business compared to last Halloween.

罗先生在接受采访时说，视频发布不久后，警方也叫他删除了视频。据他估计，与去年的万圣节相比，今年对活动的限制将导致生意下降80%或90%。

Some revelry was still allowed, such as in amusement parks including Shanghai Disneyland. Bars and restaurants could also still hang Halloween decorations indoors, and some Halloween-themed events with presold tickets were allowed to go forward.

一些狂欢活动仍被允许，比如游乐园进行的那些，包括在上海迪士尼乐园。酒吧和餐馆仍可在室内悬挂万圣节装饰物，一些预售门票的万圣节主题活动也被允许继续进行。

But many of those venues took precautions, too. One shopping complex that advertised a “Fun Night” shopping event, with posters featuring pumpkins and ghosts, erected a giant poster near its entrance. “Don’t overdo it,” it said in large orange letters. “Dress up carefully, go out simply.”

但其中多个场所也采取了预防措施。一家购物中心把活动宣传为“欢乐之夜”的购物活动，这家购物中心张贴的海报上有南瓜和鬼魂，入口处竖起了一张巨幅海报。海报上用大号橙色字体写着：“不要做过度。谨慎装扮，朴素出门。”

Anything related to politics, religion or anything “sensitive” was strictly prohibited, the sign continued. “Weird costumes can only say goodbye!”

海报上还写道，严格禁止任何与政治、宗教或“敏感”问题有关的东西。“对奇装异服说再见！”