Power Station of Art

The Power Station of Art (上海当代艺术博物馆, Shànghǎi Dāngdài Yìshù Bówùguǎn), at 678 Miaojiang Road, is a contemporary art museum in a former coal-era power plant on the Huangpu River. English Wikipedia calls it China’s first and only state-owned contemporary art museum. Go for the changing exhibitions, and for the building itself: a 165-metre chimney still stands over the site.

The story starts in 1897, when the Nanshi Electric Plant was founded at Laotaiping Wharf. It lit its first electric light in January 1898 and, the next day, powered 30 street lamps along the Bund. The plant was renamed the Nanshi Power Plant in 1955. The main factory building and the 165-metre chimney that you see today date from 1985. Operations stopped in 2007, as the riverside was cleared for Expo 2010.

During the Expo the building served as the Urban Future Pavilion (城市未来馆). According to Chinese Wikipedia, its four-storey structure was rebuilt as eight storeys within the original height, and a thermometer was fitted to the chimney. After the Expo, the conversion into an art museum was confirmed on 12 November 2011. The renovation design was by TJAD Original Design Studio, and the museum opened on 1 October 2012. The renovation kept the chimney, the rooftop generators and the general layout of the plant. Total building space is over 41,000 square metres, with about 15,000 for exhibitions.

The museum has hosted the Shanghai Biennale since 2012, beginning with the ninth edition, “Reactivation”. It shows temporary exhibitions rather than a permanent collection display, in about twelve galleries.

On site, look up first. The chimney is the landmark, though the thermometer, LED display and lights attached to it during the Expo were taken down in 2023 because the rusted fixtures and frame risked dropping parts. Inside, the large industrial volumes of the old turbine halls give the galleries their scale. English Wikipedia says the building was recognised as a Shanghai Municipal Heritage Architecture on 17 August 2015, while Chinese Wikipedia lists the chimney in the fifth batch of Excellent Historic Buildings; the two sources describe the listing differently, so treat the exact category as unconfirmed.

To get there, the nearest metro station is South Xizang Road (西藏南路), on Lines 4 and 8. Chinese Wikipedia gives opening hours of 11:00 to 19:00, closed on Mondays, with Tuesday a free-admission day, while English Wikipedia says exhibitions are free. Neither is the museum’s own page, so check the official site before you go, especially for special exhibitions that may need tickets or booking.