Other sights in Shànghǎi
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M50
Chinese contemporary art has been the hottest thing in the art world for the past decade and there’s no sign of the boom ending, with collectors around the world paying record prices for the work of top artists like Zhang Xiaogang (whose paintings sold for a total of US$57 million in 2007). Běijīng may dominate the art scene in China, but Shànghǎi has its own thriving gallery subculture, centred on this complex of industrial buildings down dusty Moganshan Rd in the north of town. Although many of the artists who originally established the enclave are long gone, it is well worth putting aside a half-day to poke around the many galleries here. There’s some challenging, i…
reviewed
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People’s Park
Occupying the site of the colonial racetrack (which became a holding camp during WWII), People’s Park is a green refuge from Shànghǎi’s fume-ridden roads, with its Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art ) and pond-side bar, Barbarossa, all overlooked by Tomorrow Square, the Shanghai Art Museum and the Park Hotel. If you’re in Shànghǎi in June, join the photographers ringing the gorgeous pink lotuses that flower in the pond. On weekend mornings an unofficial matchmaking market is held here, where parents show up with their children’s CVs (but without the children) in an attempt to find a suitably successful spouse.
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Chinese Wushu Museum
Kung fu and bāguàzhǎng (‘eight trigram palm’, an internal martial art) fanatics may want to check this one out, if only for the weapons collection. The three halls here feature a history of Chinese martial arts, various weaponry and an audio-visual exhibit. The museum has collected some 2500 items from 18 Chinese provinces, but only 500 are on display. Call first to make an appointment.
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Happy Valley Amusement Park
Happy Valley is a wildly popular national amusement park with four locations around China. This one opened in late 2009. The rides in other parks get good reviews; the Shànghǎi branch will even have a dive machine and the country’s first wooden roller coaster, the Fireball. It’s located in Songjiang county, in the town of Sheshan.
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Former Residence of Mao Zedong
Admirers of communist memorabilia will want to pop in to see the Chairman’s bedroom, but the highlight is the building itself, a beautiful example of shikumen (stone-gate house) architecture.
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Shanghart
The 1920s twin villas and garden (formerly the residence of a Shanghai middleman or comprador ) houses a gorgeous new branch of Shanghai’s most established contemporary art gallery.
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Fisherman’s Wharf
This new attraction was scheduled to open in 2010 and consists of a fishing museum and entertainment and shopping complex. It should be served by a new ferry line.
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Zhujiajiao Catholic Church of Ascension
Hunt out the peerless Zhujiajiao Catholic Church of Ascension, dating from 1863, its belfry rising in a detached tower.
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St Joseph’s Church
This French church was consecrated in 1862 and is now surrounded by a school, through which you can occasionally gain access.
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M50 Art Galleries
Běijīng may dominate the art scene in China, but Shànghǎi has its own thriving gallery subculture, centred on this complex of industrial buildings down dusty Moganshan Rd in the north of town. Although the artists who originally established the enclave are long gone, it is well worth putting aside a half-day to poke around the many galleries here.
Like all of Shànghǎi's galleries, cutting-edge work is often surrounded by mediocrity, so prepare to sift if you're in a buying frame of mind. The best of the bunch include old-timer ShanghART, the collaborative and provocative island6, and photography fromOFotoand m97, the latter of which is across the street. When your le…
reviewed
