震旦博物馆

Aurora Museum occupies six floors of the Aurora International Building at 99 Fucheng Road in Lujiazui, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. It was the first non-state museum in Lujiazui and opened to the public in October 2013. Promoted by Chen Yongtai, founder of the Aurora Group, it is run as a cultural commitment to protect, transmit and share Chinese art. The museum covers 6,316 square metres across six levels. Tadao Ando, the Pritzker laureate, planned and designed the building, his first completed museum project in China; the exterior takes the form of a jewellery box, a simple geometric volume wrapped in a glass curtain wall that at night reads as a deep blue case. Inside, a circular void five storeys high contains a spiral stair, with fair-faced concrete, glass and changing light forming the backdrop to the displays. The collection concentrates on ancient Chinese objects, including Buddhist sculpture, blue-and-white porcelain, jade through the dynasties and Han and Tang pottery figures. It is presented in permanent and temporary sections, supported by a research centre for the study of antiquities that promotes a method based on material, craft, form and decoration, and by partnerships with Peking University's School of Archaeology and Museology. Facing the Bund across the river in the Lujiazui financial district, the museum suits exhibitions, academic events, brand launches and small dinners. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, until 21:00 on Fridays, and is closed on Mondays; telephone 021-58408899.