Art in Shanghai: A Guide to the West Bund, Pudong’s Museums and Restored Mansions

Shanghai's art map: the West Bund museum district, Pudong's riverfront institutions and the older buildings that frame them.

Shanghai’s art scene has moved to the river. The museums that matter now sit on former industrial land along the Huangpu, and the city is best seen by following the water from the West Bund to Pudong.

The West Bund, a museum district on old industrial land

The West Bund is part of a masterplan to turn nine square kilometres of former industrial land on the river into a cultural district, linked by a long waterfront promenade to the historic Bund. Its anchors are the West Bund Museum, which opened in 2019 and hosts a multi-year collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, and the West Bund venue of the Long Museum, founded by the Chinese collectors Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.

The Long Museum also has a Pudong venue, a four-floor building by the Chinese architect Zhong Song that opened in 2012. It shows contemporary art on the first floor, a permanent display of Chinese revolutionary-era art on the second and traditional painting, calligraphy and objects on the third,.

Pudong and the older city

The Museum of Art Pudong and the Modern Art Museum Shanghai both stand on Binjiang Avenue in Pudong, and Shanghai Museum East presents ancient Chinese art alongside restoration work on calligraphy, painting, bronze and ceramics. On the other bank, the Rockbund Art Museum near the Bund and the Propaganda Poster Art Center show different strands of the city’s history of art and image-making.

Between museums the city itself is worth looking at. Shanghai has a large stock of Art Deco buildings, and the shikumen lane houses, which combine Chinese house forms with European design, are the tradition on which the older city is built; the Journal’s account of the shikumen lane houses explains how they work.

Where to stay

For a culture-led visit, a base on the Puxi side keeps the older city close. Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li and Bulgari Hotel Shanghai both suit this kind of trip, and where to stay in Shanghai compares the districts.

Sources: Shanghai Municipal Government: Guide to Shanghai’s best art museums; David Chipperfield Architects: West Bund Museum opens; My Art Guides: Long Museum Pudong; Dorsett Hotels: Art in Shanghai. Check the official websites for current information.