In recent years, many cultural and creative parks and art museums that were rebuilt from industrial parks have been popular among exhibition lovers and tourists. Converted from the former Yuezhong Shipyard in Zhongshan, the Qijiang Park (岐江公园) is one of the successful examples of the preservation and reuse of an industrial site.
With design concepts of local environmentalism, ecological restoration and urban renewal, the Qijiang Park has won numerous awards, including the ASLA honorary design award of the year in 2002, followed by the China architecture and art award in 2003, the gold medals at the 10th national exhibition of fine arts and China’s outstanding modern national architecture award in 2004, and the annual ULI Global Award for Excellence in 2009. The Zhongshan Museum of Art (中山美术馆), which is located in the core part of the park, is also known far and wide as a window of aesthetics in the city park.
The Zhongshan Museum of Art was designed and renovated by Dr. Yu Kongjian with Harvard University and others from factory buildings of an old shipyard. It is a combination of European avant-garde aesthetic ideas and post-industrial era features. A large number of pipes and I-beams are exposed outside the two-story buildings, and iron-blue steel frames, lemon-yellow walls and floor-to-ceiling windows make it very modern.
Since its opening to the public, the Zhongshan Museum of Art, with rich resources of collections, holds more than 20 exhibitions a year, all of which are free of charge.
Throughout the year, no matter which season it is, you may run into a touching exhibition at the Zhongshan Museum of Art when you are strolling in the Qijiang Park. Just enjoy the show quietly, enjoying a conversation with art, and you will find that it is a different experience every time.