Shanghai authorities have taken steps to clamp down on public criticism of the New Year's Eve stampede that killed 36 people, including a ban on interviews with victims' relatives and allowing only images reviewed by censors into city papers.

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Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the stampede that started in the historic riverfront called the "Bund" - which took the lives of youths, including a 12 year old boy.

China's censors have cracked down on online criticisms as local police have been closed with critical posts deleted. The South China Morning Post reported police interrogated a dozen of online critics.

The stampede took place at around 11:30 PM at a favored tourist spot on the Bund, one of the best places to watch a light show at the Pearl Tower.

Hundreds of thousands of revelers, many of them tourists, pushed their way to the waterfront, apparently unaware of some of the events that traditionally take place there on New Year's Eve had been cancelled.

Shanghai prides itself as the best managed and most advanced city in China.

State censors have kept the scale of coverage in local media limited. At the area of the stampede on Sunday, police only allowed two or three people to place followers at the foot of a statue.