Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hall, is a little smaller, around a metre long, but easier to respond to. It shows a
recumbent Buddha at the point of dying (or rather entering nirvana), with a
languid expression on his face, like a man dropping off after a good meal.
The central Great Treasure Hall holds three huge figures of the past, present
and future Buddhas, as well as the temple drum and bell. T The gods of the twenty
heavens, decorated with gold leaf, line the hall like guests at a celestial cocktail
party, and a curvaceous copper Guanyin stands at the back. It's all something of
a retreat from the material obsessions outside, but it's still Shanghai: religious
trinkets, such as fake money for burning and Buddhas festooned with flashing
lights, are for sale everywhere and the monks are doing a roaring trade flogging
blessings. If you're at all peckish, check out the attached vegetarian restaurant,
where a bowl of noodles costs ¥5 - go for the mushrooms.
Moganshan Arts District
A couple of kilometres northeast of the Yufo Temple, in an former industrial
zone beside Suzhou Creek, t he Moganshan Arts District is a complex of
studios and galleries that makes up the city's b i ggest arts destination. In the early
1990s, attracted by cheap rents, artists began to take over the abandoned
warehouse buildings at 50 Moganshan Lu and use them as studios. Then the art
galleries moved in. Now the design studios and cafés and more commercial
galleries are arriving as the district shoots inexorably upmarket. What makes it
so fascinating for the moment is the way the area is both shabby and sophisti-
cated, jumbling together paint-spattered artists, slick dealers, pretentious
fashionistas and baffled locals. Most of the smaller galleries double as studios and
there's something for all tastes, from cutting-edge video installations to chintzy
kitsch, so expect to spend at least a morning poking around.
Getting here can be a bit of a problem as public transport is inconvenient: the
nearest metro stop to Moganshan is Shanghai Station, a ten-minute walk away;
otherwise you'll have to take a taxi. Most of the galleries (though not all) are
closed on Mondays. If you're looking for a particular gallery, note that there's a
map on the wall by the entrance. For more on the Chinese art scene, see p.133.
50 Moganshan Lu
There are more than thirty galleries at 50 Moganshan Lu, but most are small
concerns selling work that's frankly rather derivative - lots of McStruggle (see
p.78) and brightly coloured caricature figures. To see the best of Chinese art,
you need to seek out the big hitters, who represent some true innovators. The
best place to start is the cavernous Art Scene Warehouse , on the first floor of
building 4, just beyond the main gate and on the left (daily except Mon
10.30am-6.30pm;
www.artscenewarehouse.com). Not only will
you find a representative selection of contemporary paintings, but the work is
sympathetically displayed (which you can't say about all the galleries) in a
minimalist white space. Look out for Xue Jiye's comically straining naked men
and Shao Yinong's melancholy images of empty halls.
Next, take those unpromising looking stairs in the building next door (no. 6)
to seek out Eastlink , on the fifth floor (daily 10am-5.30pm;
T
62774940,
W
62769932,
T
84
www.eastlinkgallery.cn). The oldest gallery here, it maintains a repuation for
sailing close to the wind, and represents controversial art scene figures such as
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