Shanghai Art Museum

The Shanghai Art Museum moved a few years ago to the former China Pavilion built for the 2010 Shanghai Word Expo.  The Expo was a huge international event located on both banks of the Huangpu River with the theme "Better City - Better Life."  Seventy-three million people attended the Expo (I was in Shanghai on business and spent a day at the Expo - it was incredible!), with peak attendance over 1 million on one of the days and with participation from 246 countries and international organizations.  This was the largest and most expensive World's Fair ever, occupying 5.25 square km (2 square miles).

The buildings from the Expo have found new lives as museums, exhibition centers, and offices.  The striking China Pavilion at the center of the Expo is now the museum to which I am headed.

 China Pavilion during the 2010 Expo

Now the Shanghai Art Museum

 View out from inside the museum

The museum holds over 80,000 exhibits of modern Chinese art, principally works created after the late 19th century.  I wander and enjoy the fabulous works of art in many mediums.

 A few examples

On the way out of the museum, after leaving the main galleries, there are a few more rooms into which I wander to find more great works, many of important moments in Chinese history.

 Historical moments

Outside the museum is courtyard with large sculptures to delight the visitor, coming and going.

 Courtyard sculptures

This is a great use of the old Expo space and a stunning exhibition of modern Chinese art.