HONG KONG – Police in Shanghai were out in force this weekend to crack down on Halloween festivities amid fears that revelers would again appear in costumes considered politically sensitive.

Last year, large crowds turned out to celebrate Halloween around Julu Road, in the heart of China’s financial capital. It was the first Halloween since China emerged from three years of pandemic isolation, and some people dressed up in hazmat suits and other costumes related to Covid and other social and economic issues.

Others wore costumes made from blank sheets of paper, a reference to rare mass demonstrations in late 2022 in Shanghai and other Chinese cities against the country’s “zero-Covid” restrictions, including a two-month hard lockdown in Shanghai. Chinese authorities responded by lifting nationwide restrictions all at once, unleashing Covid-19 on a population that had previously had little exposure to it.

In the days leading up to Halloween on Thursday, Shanghai police set up makeshift barriers on Julu and nearby roads to prevent partygoers from gathering.

Video shared on social media and geolocated by NBC News shows dozens of police officers crossing a road near Zhongshan Park, where Halloween revelers have gathered in recent days. In another video, a man dressed as Buddha was taken away by two police officers near the same location.

‘I went for a walk tonight and there were police everywhere. My 6-year-old was wearing a hat with a pirate emblem, and they even asked him to take it off,” said a comment Sunday from a Shanghai resident on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

There was no official announcement of a complete ban or clear restriction on Halloween activities by officials in Shanghai, but local businesses reported receiving notices. A business owner who operates bars in Shanghai’s Jing An district said on Chinese social media that police had told him not to party or wear “outlandish clothes” on Halloween.

The bar owner could not immediately be reached for more details. Police in Jing An could not be reached for comment. The Shanghai Information Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Halloween-related activities appeared to go ahead as planned at Shanghai Disneyland and another theme park, Happy Valley. But Zhongshan Park, where videos circulated online showing revelers gathering in recent days, said on Saturday that the park would close from Sunday afternoon, without giving a reason or saying when it would reopen.

Shanghai’s Jinjiang Action Park said Sunday that to ensure a “safe and orderly experience for visitors,” it would not allow anyone in costume during the monthly “Magic Fantasy Festival,” which appears to celebrate the Halloween season. The park had encouraged visitors to wear “colorful” makeup and “exquisite, unique” clothing for the event.

On Saturday, news of the crackdown was a trending topic on Weibo, Reuters reported. But on Monday, online censors appeared to have suppressed the discussion.

“It’s a waste of resources. If so much effort is put into it, it should be to keep people safe and having fun, not to restrict or oppress them,” said one of the few comments left.