M50 is not the only place you can find art in Shanghai. In fact, there are a lot of galleries in the Former French Concession. Most of them are within walking distance from each other (or a subway stop away). It’s something you can do on the weekend in the afternoon, if you’re looking to do something in Puxi. It’s a 3 or 4 hour circuit that I usually hit up on a Sunday afternoon (if I don’t feel like doing homework). Along the way, you’ll get to see some of the lanehouses and other historical architecture in the area, and find some of the quietest corners of Puxi.

Starting from Century Avenue, take line 9 on the metro to Zhaojiabang Road (about 20 minutes). From there it’s a 5-10 minute walk to James Cohan Gallery. It’s located right down lane number 170 on Yueyang Road, which looks like a run-of-the-mill parking lot for cars. But if you walk all the way to the back, there is an entrance (and a sign, thank goodness) located on the left that leads to a garden and the historical villa that houses the gallery. This is the Shanghai branch of this blue-chip gallery located in New York. Here you’ll find a combination of Chinese contemporary art and some international (non-Chinese) heavyweights that they usually bring in from New York.

Nearby, it’s a 2-minute walk to ART LABOR gallery. It’s located in Surpass Court, a shopping complex on Yongjia Lu. One of the best galleries in Shanghai, you’ll mostly find group shows with a good mix, featuring about 50% Chinese artists and the other half international artists.

From there, the next stop is in Xujiahui. You can either take the metro from the nearby Hengshan Road station to Xujiahui or walk twenty minutes (you’ll pass by the pretty Xujiahui Park). On Tianping Road right next to the park, you’ll find two galleries: Arario and Mao Space. Arario is a branch of the Korean gallery that features mostly Chinese, Korean, and South Asian artists. Right next door is Mao Space, one of two branches of this Shanghai gallery (the other is on West Nanjing Road) and it exclusively displays contemporary Chinese art.

Next, you can either metro from Xujiahui to Jiaotong University or walk 15 minutes to Leo Gallery. Located in Ferguson Lane, another shopping development, the gallery is divided into two parts -one is right in the front of the lane, visible from the street, and the other is located in the back. This gallery is sort of a two-for-one deal since most of the time they have two exhibitions going on at once in each space and display a nice mix of Chinese and international artists, both emerging and established.

Afterwards, walk 15 minutes down to Leo Xu Projects on Fuxing Lu. Finding it can be a little tricky; it’s not right on the street, but rather down a lane and located historic three-story home. The entrance is very non-descript, just ring the doorbell at house number three to be let in. This gallery mostly exhibits works from young Chinese artists.

From there it’s a five minute walk over to Don Gallery, also on Fuxing Road. Again, it’s location is not very obvious. Right across the street from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, it’s on the second floor of a historic apartment building, built in 1924 as the first housing for expats living in Shanghai. It’s still a residential building for locals, but visitors are welcome. Enter through the front and take the stairs up one flight up and the gallery is on your left. When you finally find it you’ll finally be rewarded with new art from emerging Chinese artists.

Addresses: James Cohan: 1/F, Bldg 1, No 1, 170 Yueyang Lu, near Jianguo Xi Lu 岳阳路170弄1号弄1号楼1楼, 近建国西路 Art Labor: 570 Yongjia Lu, near Yueyang Lu 永嘉路570号, 近岳阳路 Arario Gallery: 1-2, 320 Tianping Lu, near Hengshan Lu 天平路 320弄 1-2号, 近衡山路 Leo Gallery: 376 Wukang Lu, near Tai'an Lu 武康路376号， 近泰安路 Leo Xu Projects: Bldg 3, 49 Fuxing Xi Lu, near Yongfu Lu 复兴西路49弄3号楼, 近永福路 Don Gallery: Unit 26, 1331 Fuxing Xi Lu, near Baoqing Lu 复兴中路1331号26室，近宝庆路