New cultural venue in Songjiang opens to the public
The Yunjian Art Hall
Yunjian Art Hall, a new cultural venue in Songjiang District that officials hope will greatly improve the quality of the district's cultural services, opened to the public on January 25.
The art hall, covering 40,000 square meters and constructed with an investment of about 1 billion yuan (US$157.2 million), now houses the Songjiang Culture Center, Songjiang Cultural Resources Supply Center, a new Songjiang Library branch, Yunjian Theater and several exhibition halls.
Located in the south of Zuibai Pond Park, one of Shanghai's five classic gardens, the venue's neo-Chinese design style corresponds to the delicacy of the nearby ancient garden. Its primary buildings look like an unfolding bamboo slip and a meandering mountain, with a facade decorated with light and dark vertical lines.
The outside landscape has features of traditional Chinese gardens. The south square and medial axis use built-up land and a pond to simulate hills and rivers inside Songjiang. The central area uses slopes and sculptures of pine trees and deer to simulate the ancient Lu brothers' reading platform. Lu Ji (AD 261-303) and Lu Yun (AD 262-303), renowned men of letters in the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 265-317), spent years hermetically studying on Xiaokunshan Hill in Songjiang. A sunken courtyard, using Lingbi, Taihu Lake and Taishan Mountain stones, pays tribute to the three renowned noblemen (Yang Weizhen, Lu Juren and Qian Weishan) of Tianma Hill.
In addition to the first symphony performance at Yunjian Theater by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the art hall is holding several exhibitions, including an art exhibition by craftsmen in the Jiangnan Area, a Kesi and Gu Embroidery exhibition, a seal-cutting exhibition, as well as calligraphy and paintings by renowned local calligrapher Liu Zhaolin.
The art hall will be a one-stop cultural service venue providing exhibitions, performances, cultural activities for the public and library facilities.
An art installation is displayed along with Kesi and Gu Embroidery items at Yunjian Art Hall.
Craftworks by craftsmen in the Jiangnan Area are showcased at Yunjian Art Hall.
Venue: Yunjian Art Hall
Address: 26 Renmin Road S, Songjiang District
How to get there: Take Metro Line 9 to Zuibai Pond Station
