Discover Shanghai
M50 Art District
M50创意园
Shanghai's original gallery district, in the old Chunming wool mill on a bend of Suzhou Creek, with over a hundred studios and commercial galleries plus a long run of street graffiti along the approach. Entry and most exhibitions are free.
The story
What makes this place special
M50 occupies the former Shanghai Chunming Woollen Mill at 50 Moganshan Road on the south bank of Suzhou Creek. The site began as the Xinhe Cotton Mill, a private venture of a Huizhou merchant family, and was renamed through state ownership as the Shanghai No. 12 Woollen Mill and then the Chunming Woollen Mill. Production stopped at the end of 1999, and from 2000 the buildings were let to artists and design studios. Over 50 industrial structures from the 1930s through the 1990s survive on the site - workshops, warehouses, a boiler house, a canteen and a chimney - one of the most complete groups of early Chinese-owned industrial buildings left on the creek.
What you’ll discover
A yard of brick and concrete mill buildings with galleries and studios on several floors, reached by industrial stairs and open walkways, and more than a hundred artists working on site with studios that open to visitors. Commercial galleries are on the lower floors; working studios are higher up and behind. The creek-side graffiti wall along Moganshan Road outside is part of the attraction. Two hours is enough.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- Go up and in. The ground-floor galleries nearest the gate are the commercial front; the interesting studios are on the upper floors and down the side alleys, and the doors are usually open.
- Weekdays are when artists are actually working and will talk to you. On Sundays much of the upper site is shut.
- The graffiti wall along the street outside is free and is a separate thing from the art district - it changes constantly and is worth walking before you go in.
- Nothing here is captioned for visitors and gallery staff may not speak English. Treat it as a place to wander rather than a museum to understand.
- It is a short walk from Suzhou Creek's restored waterfront path, which is the pleasant way to arrive or leave.
- This is the older and scruffier of Shanghai's art districts. If you want polished galleries, West Bund is the other end of the spectrum.
When to come
A weekday afternoon, when studios are open and staffed. Any season; the buildings are unheated industrial space and cold in winter.
Getting around
Poor in the upper buildings. The yard and ground floors are flat and a wheelchair can see the street-level galleries, but most of the site is reached by narrow industrial stairs with no lifts, and the studios that make M50 worthwhile are upstairs. A bad knee can manage with slow stairs. There are no accessible toilets to speak of.
Worth knowing before you go
Go Thursday to Sunday afternoon when the galleries are reliably staffed and open. The graffiti wall along Moganshan Road has been shrinking as redevelopment advances, so do not count on it.
Compare established providers
Check live tours and tickets
Search for M50 Art District in Shanghai. Prices, availability, payment and confirmation are handled by the booking provider.
China Travel Select does not take payment or create the reservation. Confirm the exact name, dates, inclusions and cancellation rules on the provider’s page.
Take a closer look
Maps, videos & more
Prices and hours change. These are the places to check on the day.
