50 Moganshan Road Art Centre

Lonely Planet review

Chinese contemporary art has been the hottest thing in the art world for the last few years and there's no sign of the boom ending, with collectors paying record prices for the work of top artists. Traditionally Běijīng dominates the art scene in China. But Shanghai has its own thriving artistic community, centred on this complex of industrial buildings down dusty Moganshan Rd and edging up Suzhou Creek in the north of town.

Put aside a day to poke around the many galleries here. There's some challenging, innovative art, as well as work that won't last, and there are places to sip a coffee alongside the gallery owners and the artists themselves. A confusing series of signs directs people to the galleries, some of which have useful maps of the complex. Sharing the increasingly crowded space here are graphic-design firms, while a few machine-tool workshops remain as reminders of the industrial heritage of the place.

Galleries showing interesting, quality work include ShanghArt (Bldg 16 & 18), Art Scene (2nd fl, Bldg 4), Eastlink Gallery (5th fl, Bldg 6) and Two Cities (2nd fl, Bldg 0) which specialises in 3D art.

When your legs finally give way, take a seat at Bandu Cabin, which provides coffee, juices alcohol, sandwiches, pasta and noodles to a soundtrack of Chinese folk music.