Cue the sound of a needle being taken off a record: Putuo district planning officials just announced yesterday that the graffiti wall running along Suzhou creek on Moganshan Lu (莫干山路) next to the M50 Creative Garden will see the wrecking ball before year's end, as the area will be redeveloped for commercial purposes.
Seriously wack: Graffiti wall on Moganshan Lu getting chai'd later this year
Photo of the Day: Miao, miao Moganshan Lu
Part of an excellent series of graffiti and street art found on Moganshu Lu, the industrial complex turned art haven here in Shanghai.
Photo of the Day: Panda, Panda, Panda
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Go cruising on Suzhou Creek next month!
Coming to Suzhou Creek in August: night cruises! Like its cousins on the Huangpu, the Suzhou Creek cruise will show off its beautiful sites - instead of the Bund and Lujiazui, you get to be treated to old industrial factories from the 1930s, high-rise residential neighborhoods, and even parks.
Photo of the Day: Photo shoot on Moganshan Lu
More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).
Jasmine and Steve CD release this Friday
Concert promoting "The Color of Love" at twocities gallery this Friday
Final "twocities in tune" concert of spring series this Friday
These concerts keep getting better and better. The twocities in tune concerts have traditionally featured Steve Sweeting on piano joined by a vocalist, and the last one we heard with Jasmine Chen on vocals was off the hook. This time, Steve is going all-out and bringing in bass and drums to join him and vocalist Coco Zhao to make the final concert in the spring series a show-stopper. Playing bass will be Scott Dodd and on drums will be Charlie Foldesh.
Moganshan Lu graffiti
Jake Newby's recent post on Shanghaiist hinted at the erosion of Moganshan Lu's art district by new development. Following up, we bring you images from the area and can only hope that the 'development' is to put in riverside parkland around the then preserved heritage architecture, taking the arts district to the next level. And letting Island6 back in once the new gardens are done. We can dream, can't we?
Island6 to be cast away
Even just a few short years ago, the art district down on Moganshan Lu consisted of a handful of independent and quirkily ramshackle galleries quietly plying their trade. Today, the area has not only been considerably spruced up, but has also grown to include a number of upmarket cafes and shops. This development has inevitably created winners and losers, with numerous galleries falling by the wayside.
1918 Art Space: Upstream
1918 Art Space on Changping Lu (a refuge from the sometimes overpowering art gallery street Moganshan Lu) is a must-see for those in search of up-and-coming, young Chinese or foreign artists who yearn for a little more recognition within the cruel world of the culture media. Its mere cubic space, inherited from this warehouse storefront-space building, gives on-lookers the best approach to appreciate all the different works of art (paintings, sculptures…) that are being exhibited. And the impressive bay windows also attract the eyes of many a passer-by.
Christmas in Shanghai starts today...
... with SCAA's Christmas gala which happens this evening at 6.30pm at O'Malleys! RMB 100 at the door gets you a glass of Champagne, two standard drinks, comfort food, lots of free gifts and one Holiday Raffle ticket for a chance to win over 100 prizes totaling more than RMB 150,000! For those of you on the hunt for Christmas trees but don't know where to get them, Smart Shanghai has the answers! 'Tis the...
The revitalisation of Taikang Lu
Shanghaiist has been wanting to tell you about the remaking of Taikang Lu which for a while was in danger of getting a 'lil old and tired, but has changed pretty rapidly over the last few months. And now we even have a video to show you. Many new al-fresco cafes and creative stores have sprung up and the place has expanded. On our last trip there, we found many old residents that have stubbornly...
Arty Saturday: Yuichi Hibi, Rita Portugal Lima and Liuli China
There isn't a live music update this week, but it's art shows galore TONIGHT. Three picks that aren't in your conventional Moganshan Lu / Taikang Lu destinations.
Timezone8 Bookstore: 50% clearance sale on all items
Good English-language books are hard to come by in Shanghai, with Garden Bookstore and Charterhouse Booktrader standing out as the only establishments with decent selections. Seekers of specialty and international art and design-related titles take note--Timezone8 Bookstore in the M50 art complex on MoGanShan Rd is having an overstock clearance sale on all titles except magazines, Chinese-language, and consignment titles. The sale ends Friday, August 24th, so get there fast to splurge on all those...
August JazzArt concert by Jazz Clarinet Master
The fourth concert in the JazzArt series takes place this Sunday August 12 at 3pm at the TwoCities gallery on Moganshan lu, and will feature the music of Canadian Clarinetist and Composer extraordinaire James Danderfer. He will lead a 5-piece group, performing original contemporary jazz that he has been writing over the last year in preparation for a recording the group will make, supported by a grant awarded by the Canada Council For the Arts. James has been based in Shanghai performing in a number of venues for over 2 years now, and the music on this upcoming album is largely inspired by life in this massive city we call home. It should be a fun concert, a sharp contrast to last month's concert by Alec Haavik's Friction Five at the 1918 Artspace (which was fantastic- we apologize to everyone for the glaring lack of announcement or review of it here. Here is a good picture and review of it in Chinese). James' understated, melodic style is a lot mellower than Alec's jazz-rock fusion, of course needless to say both are awesome in their own ways.
First JazzArt concert a big success
The JazzArt concert series got off to a fantastic start with a packed house enjoying two sets of Lawrence Ku's original music on this past Sunday. His group of seven musicians featured the cream of the crop on the Shanghai jazz scene, nearly all of whom are also faculty at the JZ school — including EJ Parker, Alec Haavik, Andy Hunter, Chris Trzcinski, the author of this post, Lawrence himself, as well as the amazing Beijing-based pianist XiaJia. The concert was held at the TwoCities art gallery on Moganshan Lu, and was a perfect room for the band to play in. It's just the right size for that kind of ensemble, because there was no need to use microphones at all. In fact the only amplification used was for the bass and guitar, and it was minimal.
JazzArt series begins this Sunday at TwoCities gallery
This first week of the JazzArt concert series will feature the Lawrence Ku Septet playing at the TwoCities Gallery at M50 on Moganshan lu. The septet, which performs quite rarely, is in fact playing quite a few times this month. This is partly because trombonist Andy Hunter is in town through the end of the month, and there aren’t really any other good jazz trombonists in Shanghai. Besides the Jazzy Shanghai festival performance last week and this weekend’s JazzArt concert, the group will also play a CD release party on the 24th (and the Beijing jazz festival at the end of the month). Of course, the imminent release of the album is the other main reason for the increased performance frequency.
Today's Links: Canada, chocolate and burning puppies
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Photo by shanghaistreets found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Jazz duo tonight at Twocities Gallery
As part of the ongoing "Twocities in Tune" concert series, tonight there will be a duo concert by Steve Sweeting and Coco Zhao at 7:30 pm. These two have done a few of these concerts together already, some of which we reported on previously, also at the last minute. All of the concerts in this series are held at the Twocities Gallery at M50 on Moganshan Lu, and each one features Steve's masterful piano skills together with a talented vocalist. This particular duo has recently recorded an album, which is still in the production process. We'll be sure to let you know when the CD release (party) is when we catch word of it.
Stuck in Shanghai for the holidays?
Lucky for Shanghaiist, we won't be. But we certainly feel for people who will be stuck in the city for the holidays. So we've compiled an incomplete list of a few things to keep you occupied while your friends are back home drinking eggnog and getting wasted with family around the Christmas tree.
Twocities in Tune
Twocities Gallery (双城现代手工艺术馆), 50 Moganshan Lu, Building 0, 2nd floor (near Aomen Lu). 莫干山路50号0号楼2楼,近澳门路.Tel: 52521518
Fringe Fest comes to Shanghai
Every couple of years, Shanghai's art and culture scene comes alive as a slew of exhibitions are organized in tandem with the Shanghai Biennale, arguably the biggest art event in the city. And every couple of years, Shanghaiist is disappointed by the various offerings. Shanghai never claimed to be the cultural center of China but one would think out of all the events and exhibitions this fall, something would get Shanghaiist excited. Instead, we can sum up this fall's art events with one word: Boring!
Photo of the Day: Do You Have A Camera?
So what happens during a meet up? Well, we practically shoot everything in sight. But more than that, it's a great venue to make new friends, learn about your camera, discover photography tips, find your way around Shanghai, have some fun, and maybe we'll grab some drinks afterwards.
Vivienne Tam's Shanghai
Guangdong-born, Hong Kong-raised and New York-based fashion designer Vivienne Tam has been visiting Shanghai twice a year "to find inspiration" for more than 20 years. Tam recently gave Travel and Leisure a look at her "hidden Shanghai." We'll let Shanghaiist readers determine just how "hidden" it really is. Here are the places mentioned in the story:
Tang Hui forced to cancel all live rock music
This morning, via Micah's blog, we learned of this posting on Rockself.com:
Review: Brunch at Mimosa Supper Club
Yes, we know, we know. Pier One -- so last month. Shanghaiist admits it -- we never went when it was The Next Big Thing. The journey to get there just seemed Biblical in length. Why hike to Suzhou Creek, the Shanghai equivalent of outer Xinjiang, when the loving embraces of Glamour Bar, Time Passage and Mint were just around the corner? Pier One, by the way, is a complex of outrageously pretentious super-chic bars and restaurants in the north of Shanghai, nearby Moganshan Lu. With a Michelin-starred chef and a killer design, it promised to be a great step forward in Shanghai’s nightlife. The drawback -- distance from every other bit of nightlife in town!
Shanghai Crackdown: Art fought the law and the law won
For a while, it seemed the days of exhibitions being shut down in Shanghai were long gone. Since Shanghaiist moved to the city four years ago, we had not witnessed any major crackdowns, although there have been a few minor incidents here and there. The cultural scene in the city took a step back, however, on Saturday when a massive exhibition at the new Creative Garden on Longhua Lu was shut down by the authorities.

