Shanghai Daily news
 
It may not be the most impressive-looking street in Shanghai but the lanes which run off it offer a great variety of high-quality art, writes Ayesha de Kretser.

The entrance to Taikang Road’s lane 210 where you can find a variety of fine art galleries.

          
Left: At Han Yuan Gallery and Cafe, tables sit in the middle of the massive open space with paintings hanging all around.
Right: A wooden lamp with white silk shade is priced at 2,300 yuan (US$284) at Red Door Artist Studio.

At first glance, Taikang Road looks like most other streets in Shanghai. Adorned with eateries and unimpressive and uninviting galleries selling the usual assortment of antiques and junk, you could easily make a detour and head elsewhere before coming across anything interesting.
But keep walking for several blocks and you will notice a shocking pink entrance to a lane that is filled with delights. Down this lane and a couple on either side of it, you will find some of Shanghai’s most exciting new artists’wares displayed.
Mandi Cao is one such artist whose studio doubles as a gallery where she can be found busily painting and preparing for an exhibition in Vienna this month. 116 Studio is home to the works of two Chinese artists and pieces can be bought for between 100 yuan (US$12.34) to 400,000 yuan.
Cao is one of many Chinese artists whose works are on display in Europe. She says she has also exhibited in Australia where she lived for two years. Half of her customers are foreigners and she says they are attracted to Taikang Road for its restaurants such as the Kommune Cafe which is located close to her workshop.
Another eye-catching space is the Han Yuan Gallery and Cafe with its brilliant blue floors and exposed wood-beamed roof. It has a halffinished feel which adds to the appeal of the art hanging on its walls and gives the place a raw, earthy touch.
Tables sit in the middle of the massive open space and a photographic gallery of works by the owner, Deke Erh, adjoins. Artworks in his gallery retail for between 10,000 and 250,000 yuan.
“There Art Studio” is home to works from all over China and some of the pieces are very reasonably priced. The leather cuttings from Shanxi Province are impressive as is the art from Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi Province. Artworks can be purchased here for as little as 800 yuan.
As well as art galleries and workshops, Taikang Road hosts an extensive array of everyday home furnishings from couches to tablecloths and everything in between. However, this street should be avoided if you are not looking to come home laden down with new additions to your home.
Some of the traditional art galleries, such as the Red Door Artist Studio, also sell ceramics and other items including a beautiful wooden lamp with white silk shade for 2,300 yuan.
At the corner of Lane 220 is the Pottery Workshop where all of the ceramics are produced in-house. A delightful ceramic teapot costs 600 yuan, and delicately painted bowls are priced at around 200 yuan. The shop assistant says the gallery runs workshops for anyone interested in learning pottery in the studio space next door.
More ceramics can be found at the AJN Ceramics Art Gallery where huge clay structures in natural, earthy colors are displayed.
They sell for between 15,000 and 180,000 yuan, depending on their size and level of detail.
Taikang Road is a great place to spend a weekend if you want to combine shopping, eating and drinking into one experience.
It’s also a great place for entertaining foreign guests and giving them a taste of the “new” China as well as a good look at a most impressive selection of art and lifestyle products.