China’s first state-run contemporary art museum, in the former Nanshi power station on the south bank of the Huangpu — a 1980s coal plant converted in 2012, with its hundred-and-sixty-five-metre chimney left standing and turned into a thermometer.
The turbine hall is enormous and largely left as it was found, which makes the building itself the most interesting thing in it a good deal of the time.
What it costs
⭐ Free for the permanent displays and the building.
Major temporary exhibitions are ticketed separately. The Shanghai Biennale is held here.
When to go
Closed Mondays. ⚠️ Between exhibitions there can be genuinely little on show — check what is actually installed before making the trip, because the programme has real gaps.
Getting there
South Xizang Road on lines 4 and 8, then about fifteen minutes on foot along the river, which is a good walk in itself.
If you only have an hour
The turbine hall, the upper galleries, and the roof terrace for the view along the river. The chimney has an observation level that opens intermittently.
What people get wrong
Expecting a full permanent collection. It is a kunsthalle — a building for temporary exhibitions — not a museum with its own holdings on display.
Nearby
Ticketing arrangements, closing days and boat timetables as published and checked on 6 September 2026. These change without much warning — confirm with the place itself before you travel. More sights, and how they fit together, in Landmarks & Sights.