M50 Creative Park (50 Moganshan Road)

M50 (M50创意园, M50 Chuàngyì Yuán), at 50 Moganshan Road in Putuo District, is a former textile mill beside Suzhou Creek that now holds art galleries, artists’ studios and design businesses. It is the place to see how Shanghai’s contemporary art scene took over disused factory space. The city government’s tourism page says free exhibitions are held there but gives no hours, so check each gallery.

The site’s history can be traced in two stages. Chinese Wikipedia says the Xinhe Spinning Mill (信和纱厂), founded by Zhou Zhijun (周志俊), was built here in 1937, with machinery brought from a mill in Qingdao. After 1949 it became a public-private joint venture, was renamed the Shanghai No. 12 Woolen Textile Factory, and later became the Shanghai Chunming Worsted Spinning Factory (春明粗纺厂). The Shanghai government’s page says the textile factory closed in 1999, and Chinese Wikipedia agrees that textile production stopped that year, during industrial restructuring.

The art district grew from cheap rent in empty buildings. English Wikipedia says the scene began in 2000, when the artist Xue Song (薛松) moved in, with Ding Yi (丁乙), Qu Fengguo and Wang Xingwei following soon after. Chinese Wikipedia gives 2001 for Xue Song’s arrival and says the M50 creative park was officially established in 2002, with ShanghART and Eastern Gallery among the first galleries. The sources differ by a year on that first studio.

The site is large. Chinese Wikipedia puts it at about 41 mu, with more than 50 industrial buildings dating from the 1930s to the 1990s, and the city government says its “50” refers to the street number and also to the 50 historical buildings. English Wikipedia says the site has over 120 galleries and art studios, while Chinese Wikipedia reports about 150 tenants from more than 30 countries and regions. English Wikipedia adds that the land and buildings are still owned by Shangtex, a state-owned textile group.

On site, the factory is still obvious. The government page mentions chimneys, boilers and graffiti kept alongside newer elements, and visitors can try workshops such as pottery or oil painting. Chinese Wikipedia lists ShanghART in Building 16 and Eastern Gallery on the fifth floor of Building 6, among others, though tenants change.

For transport, English Wikipedia names Jiangning Road station on Line 13 as the closest metro stop, with Zhongtan Road (Lines 3 and 4) next. Check gallery hours before you go.