UR Shanghai
by LUXE City Guides
Art+ Shanghai Gallery
Museums & ArtEmerging contemporary artists from China come together in this modest white-walled gallery. Fine art for purchase or stop by regularly hosted artist talks and workshop events. With the picturesque Suzhou river by its side, make a day out of it and skip to the West Bund or Rockbund Art Museum.
191 South Suzhou Road http://artplusshanghai.com/exhibitions/ contact@artplusshanghai.com +86 21 6333 7223 -
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Bespoke Travel Shanghai
Private Tours & GuidesThe cats PJ's for personal experiences, ace custom crawls and unique outings across the city, plus signature thematic tours and neighbourhood jaunts by local experts. Unearth the city's secrets, dive into Deco Shanghai or customise your own. Foodies will also love the xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) classes and bespoke cocktail making. Book.
366 Julu Lu, by Shaanxi Nan Lu http://www.bespoketravelcompany.com/ info@bespoke-shanghai.com +86 151 0167 9082 Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum Project
Museums & ArtGlobal art heavyweight lands on the banks of the Huangpu, and what an arrival it is. British starchitect David Chipperfield conceived the colossal iridescent three-level showpiece, housing exhibitions and performances drawing on French and Chinese talents and collaborations. Three galleries feature a rotation of works from Paris. Check site for programs, creative studio events and children's workshops.
2600 Longteng Avenue http://www.wbmshanghai.com/en/index.php Chenshan Botanical Garden
Gardens & ParksGerman landscape architects, Valentien + Valentien, are to credit for the city’s largest park clocking in at 2 million sqm with over 9,000 plant species — worth the schlep to Songjiang. This botanical bowery is a haven of roses, green expanses, sapphire lakes and cascading waterfalls. Tots in tow? Go for a climb on Chenshan Hill and stop at the playground (trampoline and all).
No.3888 Chenhua Road http://en.csnbgsh.cn/sites/chenshan/chenshan_en/index.ashx chenshan@csnbgsh.cn China Art Palace
Museums & ArtPudong pavilion with the world's largest cache of mod Chinese art and int'l works, laid out over five expansive floors. Start at the top and work your way down through time, and you'll be treated to an artful journey of kitsch propaganda posters and animated short films.
205 World Expo Park, Shangnan Lu https://www.artmuseumonline.org/art/art/index.html +86 400 921 9021 Chinese Cooking Workshop
ExploreYou'll not only taste China's myriad provinces while prepping dishes from noodles to dim sum, but also learn much more than just cooking techniques along the way. Watch the tightly-knit sleeve of Middle Kingdom cuisine unravel before your very eyes.
no 370 Wulumuqi Rd (South) near Zhaojiabang Rd booking@chinesecookingworkshop.com +86 158 2161 8151 Fosun Foundation Art Center
Museums & ArtThe wowzer bronze-hued bamboo-shrouded arts centre conceived by Brit architect duo Norman Foster and Thomas Heatherwick is worth visiting for the building alone. But, peer beyond the triple-layered edifice to find an expansive contemporary art exhibition hall and world-class music venue.
600 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu http://fosunfoundation.com info@fosunfoundation.com +86 21 6305 5118 Grand Theatre
EntertainmentSink into the red seats of French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier's futuristic centrepiece, housing regular world-class performances from whistles and bells musicals to intimate chamber music concerts. By night the crystal box, home base to the Shanghai Opera House Company, glows from within.
300 Renmin Dadao http://shgtheatre.com/ +86 21 6386 8686 Guangfulin Culture Park
Gardens & ParksCome here for landscaped walkways, heritage teahouses, food stalls, plus Buddhist and Taoist temples. At a massive 1,050 acres, you'd barely notice the tourists. Lakeside picnics in lush cherry blossom surrounds for a day away.
3260 Guangfulin Road http://www.gflpark.com/gateway/homepage/showHomePage +86 21 57800000 Historic Shanghai
ExploreTime travel via these expert jaunts with city buffs, historians and shutterbugs. A throughtful range of immersive tours will have you discovering 80s Shanghai (all Mao suits, bicycles and western architecture) women's experiences in Republican China or what it was like to take the last boat out. Co-founders Patrick Cranley and Tina Kanagaratnam, who’ve been in Shanghai for 22 years, know their onions. Private and bespoke available.
Imperial Tours
Private Tours & GuidesUS-run, Beijing-based and the smartest outfit for tours in Shanghai and all around China.
M50
Museums & ArtWarehouse-sized studios abound in this old industrial park surrounded by graffiti and crammed with contempo art plus cafes and bars. Check out Island6 for neon, LED and interactive artworks by the Island6 digital collective and Vanguard Gallery for emerging local starlets offering contemporary works and live performance installations.
50 Moganshan Lu, Suzhou Creek http://www.artlinkart.com/en/space/overview/ec1auuml webmaster@m50.com.cn +86 21 6266 7125 M97
Museums & ArtThis contempo and fine art photo gallery is first stop for leading local snappers including Chi Peng and Huang Xiaoliang, with occasional special exhibits held by international shutterbugs too.
363 1/F, Changping Lu, by Shaanxi Bei Lu http://m97gallery.com/ info@m97gallery.com +86 21 6266 1597 Magda Danysz Gallery
Museums & ArtShanghai sister to the Parisian original, this contemporary gallery is housed in a hangar-sized Yangpu space, exhibiting new media works by emerging Chinese artists and hosting discussions, screenings and events.
256 Beijing East Road (Jiangxi Road) http://magda-gallery.com/ info@danyszgallery.com +86 21 6333 1016 Matthew Liu Fine Arts
Museums & ArtEx-financier Matt has set up shop amid the restored neo-classical facades of the Rockbund Development, repping German photog Candida Höfer, Arranz-Bravo from Spain and Brazil's Vik Muniz, and a show schedule rotating six times yearly.
99 L 205-206A, East Beijing Rd http://www.mlfinearts.com/ info@mlfinearts.com +86 21 6315 1582 MIFA 1862
Land ActivitiesThis ‘70s shipyard has a new name, and it’s MIFA— Kuma Kengo's 31,600sqm renovated expansion of homegrown and international talent rich with luxe boutiques, eateries and sophisticated galleries. Walk through the industrial-chic architecture, floating brick walls and exposed brasserie from the street-side to the riverfront where you'll find cyclists, furry friends and tiny tots alike. In the afternoon, head to the third-floor Floral Cafe and Lounge to refuel on coffee and cake.
1777 Binjang Dadao, near Jimo Lu http://www.1862theater.com/ +86 021 6882 5398 MoCA Shanghai
Museums & ArtPint-sized crystal cabin packing quite the art punch, from Li Lei's abstracts to Gaudi archi and Ferragamo shoe-oohs. Afterwards, take a perch in the 3/F cafe, overlooking the pretty park greenery.
231 Nanjing Xi Lu http://mocashanghai.org/ info@mocashanghai.org +86 21 6327 9900 Pearl Lam
Museums & ArtThe eponymous, HK-based designer's creamy white Shanghai outpost displays contemporary, multidisciplinary works from the likes of Lei Hong and Zhu Jinshi. If bigger is better, visit the downstairs gallery for large-scale installations.
181 Jiangxi Zhong Lu, by Fuzhou Lu http://pearllam.com/ info@pearllamgalleries.com +86 21 6323 1989 People’s Square
ExploreThis former horse racecourse is now a one-stop cultural park to get your fab art fill. Archi-symbolic Shanghai Museum houses dynastic relics and rarities, while the glass-paned beauty MoCA draws international contempo heavyweights. The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall sounds like a boring old crud, but on the 4/F is a fascinating scale model of the shape of Shanghai to come. All cultured out? Plant your bot in the red seats of French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier's futuristic centrepiece the Grand Theatre for regular world-class performances. Ta-da!
Power Station of Art
Museums & ArtIs that a giant smokestack or is China's first state-run contemporary art museum just excited to be the host of the Shanghai Biennale? Once a power station, now a giant exhibition hall for oversized works, plus vista-tastic terrace.
678 Miaojiang Road http://powerstationofart.org/ info@powerstationofart.com +86 21 3110 8550 SGA
Museums & ArtVaulted, world-class showcase with a focus on Chinese contempo, boasting river views and a chic Bund location, with prices to match. Prominent artists include Xu Bing, Yang Yongliang and Yan Lei.
3 3/F, Three on the Bund, Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu http://shanghaigalleryofart.com/ sga@on-the-bund.com +86 21 6321 5757 Shanghai Center of Photography
Museums & ArtAn arts district is emerging down at the 8km-long West Bund Cultural Corridor, and the SCoP is a small but innovative spot founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning Liu Heung Shing, one of China's foremost shutterbugs. Part gallery and part museum for contempo and archival photography, it's certainly worth a capture in your lens.
2555-1 Longteng Dadao http://en.scop.org.cn/ info@scop-sh.com +86 21 6428 9516 Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center
Museums & ArtSee red at this private museum, with a collection of 6,000+ Mao-era propaganda posters, from cartoons to industrial-size prints and militaristic motifs. Don't miss the hundreds of Shanghai Lady Calendar prints dating from the early C.20th.
Rm K 7F East Tower,Hua Min Han Zhen International,726 Yan An Xi Rd http://www.shanghaipropagandaart.com/ pmyang999@163.com +86 21 6211 1845 ShanghART / H-Space
Museums & ArtShanghai's most reliable gallery is an omni-media installation space showing mod Chinese and int'l artists in new West Bund digs with well-informed staff. The library and archives can be viewed by appointment, and nearby H-Space homes larger-than-life exhibits from contempo creatives.
West Bund Bldg.10, 2555 Longteng Avenue http://www.shanghartgallery.com/galleryarchive/ info@shanghartgallery.com +86 21 6359 3923 Suzhou Museum
Museums & ArtEscape the city for this I.M. Pei-designed art space in white stucco, glass and bold geometric shapes, set amid C.19th houses and two UNESCO sites. Inside are Ming and Qing dynasty antiques in jade and porcelain, plus calligraphy, paintings and rotating special exhibitions.
204 Dongbei Jie, Suzhou http://www.szmuseum.com/ webmaster@szmuseum.com +86 512 6757 5666 Tank Shanghai
Museums & ArtAdding further clout to the West Bund Cultural Corridor, Qiao Zhibing's formidable Tank is so-called for the enormous converted aviation-oil storage tanks it occupies. Beijing-based Open Architects have transformed the 60,000-square-metre complex into a pace-setting series of galleries repping contemporary art, bookstore, restaurant and education centre.
2380 Longteng Avenue, near Longyao Lu http://www.tankshanghai.com/ info@tanksh.cn +86 21 6950 0005 The Moganshan Lu Graffiti Wall
Museums & ArtAfter M50s famous graffiti wall makes a bold and temporary return. Pop along to snap the ever-changing hoardings emblazoned with murals by local and global artists. Peepers peeled for cult Shanghainese talent Sui Tang and French grafitti master Dezio.
The Shanghai Museum
Museums & ArtStep in for a stunning and vast collection of ancient Chinese bronzes, ceramics, coins, jade, paintings, furnishings and calligraphy, spread over 11 permanent gallery spaces plus a few rotating exhibits.
Tianmashan (Tianma Mountain)
Gardens & ParksKnown as the most beautiful hill in Shanghai, make the trip to Songjiang for bamboo-shaded hikes around the mountain, serene temple stops and at-the-peak views of Shanghai’s western ‘burbs. Day trip it and tag along Chengshan Botanical garden for pretty pink blooms.
Tianshan Tea City
ExploreThe naff faux trad building conceals a bonanza of over 150 stalls selling every variety of tea and accessory imaginable, and shop owners happily provide samples with no pressure to purchase. The few whom speak English can impart a wealth of knowledge about tea types and brewing techniques. Don't forget to bargain!
520 Zhongshan Xi Lu, by Wuyi Lu http://dabutong.com/ +86 21 6233 8699 UnTour Food Tours
Private Tours & GuidesInsatiable foodies and curious eaters don elastic waistbands for culinary adventures and the best of local street eats. Private and group tours available.
Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
Museums & ArtSounds like a boring old crud, but on the fourth floor is a fascinating, sprawling scale model of the shape of Shanghai to come. In the next room, a video presentation offers a 360-degree glimpse of the future, while history buffs can dive into the interactive lower floor exhibits.
100 Renmin Dadao supec@live.cn +86 21 6318 4477 West Bund Cultural Corridor
ExploreShanghai's emerging contemporary arts district, stretching 8km along the Huangpu, is perfect for a weekend wander, with a host of museums and galleries transforming this wide pedestrian riverside promenade into a culture vulture's must-see. Still uncrowded, so go now. Not sure where to start? Try the SCoP (see Activities), Yuz Museum (closed for renovation, but you're still able to peek inside), the Long Museum West Bund (see Activities) and newcomer Tank.
Yuz Museum
Museums & ArtAbsolutely staggering, 9,000 sq m gallery (incorporating massive airplane hangars) and tribute to contemporary Asian art by Indo-Chinese billionaire art collector Budi Tek. Putting Shanghai firmly and decisively on the global art map.