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China Art Museum, Shanghai

Description

The China Art Museum, Shanghai is housed in the China Pavilion building of the Expo 2010 Shanghai China. It was designed by the team of architect He Jingtang and inspired by the ancient bronze cauldron called ding and the dougong wooden bracket. The collection displays Chinese modern and contemporary paintings & sculptures since the end of the Qing dynasty (early 20th century). Some famous artists from the Shanghai School such as He Tianjian, Xie Zhiliu, and Cheng Shifa are exhibited.

Access & Transport

The museum is located in the expo area, across the Hangpu river from central Shanghai. Metro line 2 'China Art Museum' stop is next to the building.

Instructions & Recommendations

The visit starts with the upper floors but keep 30mins of your time to enjoy the large rooms in the lower one, as you look for the exit (can feel a bit of a maze).

Meta review

Often mentioned in travel guidebooks, much less so in blogs, the online reviews are on average not exactly ecstatic. Clearly, the highlight is the building itself when seen from outside but the quality of the exhibits is quite uneven, without any real masterpiece and perhaps too much of social realism. Also, for those who aren't enthralled by the artwork, the compulsory routing through all floors and escalators is compared to IKEA...

Environmental & Social

Repurposed building. Some electricity consumption. Spreads the arts.

Conclusion

The museum is actually interesting enough to justify the trip and perhaps a 90mins visit, provided you don't have competing options high on your list. Best reserved to those with strong artistic / cultural inclinations

Key positive

Very impressive building architecture

Next to metro station and free admission

Key negative

Average quality of the collection

Forced flow of visit

Suitability

Accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. Children under 14yr old will not be interested in the content

About this Rating

TYPE

Onsite

RESEARCHED IN

February 2024

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit
Last admission is 1h before closing

av. transport time:0h 30m

est. visit time:2h

Regulated hours

Monday -

Tuesday10:00 - 18:00

Wednesday10:00 - 18:00

Thursday10:00 - 18:00

Friday10:00 - 18:00

Saturday10:00 - 18:00

Sunday10:00 - 18:00

Pricing
The permanent collection is free but special exhibitions are priced at CNY20
Free

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