Songjiang Yunjian Conference Hall Art Museum

The Yunjian Conference Hall Art Museum is located on the fourth floor of the Yunjian Conference Hall Cultural and Art Center, at No. 69, Lane 6, South Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai. When I visited, the first three floors below were all public libraries. The art gallery on the fourth floor covers about 2,000 square meters; this gallery is the Yunjian Conference Hall Art Museum.

The overall architecture of the Yunjian Conference Hall is grand and majestic, but it also possesses the elegance characteristic of Jiangnan. It adopts a new Chinese style, with a roof design that resembles an open ancient book as well as Songjiang’s nine peaks. To the north, the building is separated from Zuibaichi Park by a river, and the landscape is integrated into the design by borrowing scenic views from the park.

The Yunjian Conference Hall Art Museum prioritizes public service, offers free admission, and hosts regular themed exhibitions. Currently, there are no permanent collections or exhibitions.

From July 1, 2025, to January 15, 2026, the museum is hosting the Grand Exhibition of Jiangnan Water Transport. Historically, the Jiangnan region, centered around Taihu Lake, has long been famous as the "Land of Fish and Rice." To continuously supply the capital and northern regions with Jiangnan’s produce, the Grand Canal of China began construction during the Six Dynasties period. With the opening of the Grand Canal and the development of Jiangnan’s grain transport system, the economies and cultures along the canal prospered. This story serves as the main background for the “Grand Exhibition of Jiangnan Water Transport.”

This exhibition not only presents the history of the canal, the development of shipbuilding technology, the prosperity of the “Eight Prefectures and One Fu” of Jiangnan, and the region’s cultural specialties, but also focuses on the history of textile development in the Songjiang area through the ages.

Exhibits include cultural relics (ancient textile machinery, textiles, porcelain, etc.), handicraft displays (Suzhou embroidery, Wuxi clay figurines, Nanjing cloud brocade, etc.), model displays (such as ships), reproductions of famous ancient paintings ("Along the River During the Qingming Festival," "A Prosperous Scene in the Southern Capital," "Spring in Jiangnan," etc.), as well as videos. The exhibition features a variety of formats and a well-designed layout. A unique feature is an exhibition area called “In Time,” where historical photographs or album pages of Songjiang’s famous buildings are displayed one by one along a narrow and winding maze-like corridor. This creates an immersive sense of stepping into the city’s alleys through time, allowing visitors to experience the history and aesthetics of southern China’s small lanes, stone bridges, alleys, neighborhoods, buildings, and ferry crossings.

In addition to the Grand Canal exhibition, the museum has a 100-square-meter gallery featuring works by four contemporary calligraphers and painters, mainly depicting the culture, scenery, and architecture of the Songjiang area. Visitors are welcome to explore the exhibition while they are there.

The Songjiang Yunjian Conference Hall Art Museum is open from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Tuesday through Sunday. Generally, it takes about one hour to visit the entire museum, although the duration may vary slightly depending on the specific exhibition.