This is the moment a giant 25ft Christmas tree goes up in smoke outside a Chinese shopping centre.

The intense flames engulfed both the tree and the rest of the display in front of the Bohui Plaza Mall in eastern Shanghai.

Firefighters and mall staff eventually put out the blaze but not before the display had been destroyed.

The fire is believed to have been started by a short circuit in the electrics.

Online commentators said that it was a bad omen end to a bad year that saw economic stagnation and the country in the grips of a COVID pandemic.

The eight-metre-high display was destroyed entirely, apart from a metal frame left behind and a few ornaments around it.

The Huangpu District Fire Rescue Detachment confirmed that they had been called out and had successfully extinguished the blaze, and the cause was being investigated.

An unnamed witness told local media: “There were many decorative plastic products on the Christmas tree, so, when it caught fire, plumes of black smoke were produced in the air.”

No casualties have been reported in the incident.

The brigade advised netizens to pay attention to fire safety during the holiday season.