The Shanghai Literature Museum is expected to open its doors to the public next year. The Ba Jin Library within the museum is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year and open to the public.
Shanghai, a pivotal city for 20th-century Chinese literature, has been the birthplace, driving force, and harvest point of new Chinese literature.
The establishment of the museum, a long-held aspiration of generations of local writers, commenced construction on Wujin Road in Hongkou District in 2022.
The museum’s location in Hongkou is historically significant, having been a dazzling hub for modern and contemporary Chinese literary figures.
In the 1920s and 1930s, renowned writers such as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo, Ba Jin, Ding Ling, Rou Shi, and Shi Zhecun worked in Hongkou.
Lu Xun spent his last decade there, and Mao Dun's pen name was conceived in this district, making it the epicenter of a literary surge that significantly influenced the direction of modern and contemporary Chinese literature.
The completed museum will cover a total above-ground area of about 14,000 square meters, consisting of three historically preserved buildings, including "Yi Hong Yuan," and a new construction.
The design of the new main building preserves the characteristics of the architectural conservation area, emphasizing the harmony and integration between new and old structures.
The facade incorporates red elements, reflecting Hongkou's profound revolutionary cultural heritage and facilitating a dialogue across time and space.
The first step includes setting up the Ba Jin Library in a historical building within the museum. It integrates document collection, community engagement, exhibitions, and public cultural exchanges.
Expected to open to the public within the year, it will primarily feature a thematic exhibition on Ba Jin. It will become a vibrant new cultural space for various literary activities.
The entire museum is expected to be completed and open next year. The museum's exhibitions will showcase Shanghai’s unique urban literary landscape through literary works, authors' biographies, and literary events, portraying the richness of traditional literature, May Fourth New Literature, left-wing literature, and popular literature within Shanghai's grand milieu.
The museum aims to promote and popularize literary historical knowledge, enhance cultural and literary literacy, serve current research and literary development needs, and strengthen the literary impact and interaction with the public.
The museum at 439 Wujin Road enjoys an advantageous geographical position. It is near the Beiheng Passage, 800 meters from the Bund, 2 kilometers from Lujiazui, adjacent to Hongkou’s fashionable The INLET, and close to the Sichuan Road N. Station of Metro Line 10, ensuring easy access and convenience for visitors.