Shanghai’s riverside art museums: choose your afternoon

Shanghai’s riverside museums invite a large-scale cultural day, but the exhibitions deserve more than a quick circuit of striking buildings. Choose the show first, then decide whether the afternoon needs a second museum or simply a walk by the river.

West Bund Museum and Long Museum are both in the Xuhui waterfront district, with different addresses and separate programmes. They can be considered together if both exhibitions interest you, but allow time between them. The Power Station of Art is in Huangpu district and belongs to a different stretch of river. It is an alternative destination, not the next door of one continuous museum complex.

Architecture can be a thread through the day: Long Museum’s relationship with the former wharf and the Power Station’s industrial shell encourage you to notice how art occupies a building. At West Bund Museum, let the current exhibition decide what you spend time with. The exterior photographs on place cards do not show today’s installations.

Check the official programme, holiday calendar and ticket scope before travelling. One exhibition ticket may not cover every display in a building. Save the Chinese venue name and street address for local navigation, since the mapping service available on your phone may vary. These three choices work best with time around them, rather than a promise to see everything on the river in one day.