“Silk Reveals Shanghai, a Needle Holds Ten Thousand Worlds” (丝见上海，针藏万象) — the Shanghai Silk Embroidery Fine Works Exhibition will run from August 8 to August 20, 2026 at the Shanghai Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum (second-floor gallery, 650 Xianxia Road, Changning District), according to an announcement from the Changning Cultural and Arts Center. Guided by the Changning District Culture and Tourism Bureau and hosted by the Changning Cultural and Arts Center, with the Chengjiaqiao Subdistrict Community Cultural Activities Center and the Shanghai Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum as co-organizers, the exhibition gathers representative silk-embroidery works from Shanghai across landscapes, flowers and birds, and humanistic scenes. Drawing on locally distinctive stitching techniques, the pieces weave the city’s character and Chinese aesthetics into silk thread, showcasing the refinement of heritage handwork and the depth of Shanghai-style culture.
The centerpiece of the show is a group of representative works by Ye Weina, one of Shanghai’s best-known silk-embroidery artists, including embroidered recreations of “Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk” (捣练图) at 56×210 cm, “Vimalakirti Teaching the Sutra” (维摩诘演教图) as a scroll at 70×265 cm, “Lady Guoguo’s Outing in Spring” (虢国夫人游春图) as a long scroll at 74×230 cm, and “Five Oxen” (五牛图) at 210×50 cm. Works created in collaboration with Jiang Wenkui include “Night Banquet” (夜宴) at 150×275 cm, “The Flutist” (长笛手) at 170×200 cm, and “Zhaojun Going beyond the Frontier” (昭君出塞) at 120×130 cm. Among them, “Qipao Poppy” at 70×85 cm stands out for taking the qipao itself as its subject, fusing the imagery of Shanghai-style dress with silk-embroidery technique.
These pieces either rework celebrated classical paintings in thread or draw on traditional figures and stories, using strand after strand of silk to reproduce the brush spirit of painting and the delicate layering of color. The scale is a statement in itself: a long scroll of “Lady Guoguo’s Outing in Spring” spanning 230 cm, or the “Five Oxen” stretched across 210 cm, demands thousands of hours of handwork to carry ink-wash washes and fine linework into stitched form. Alongside such classical subjects, the qipao-themed piece signals the exhibition’s Shanghai accent — the city’s dress culture and its embroidery heritage sharing the same needle, an interplay the organizers say lies at the heart of “Silk Reveals Shanghai, a Needle Holds Ten Thousand Worlds.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public. Regular opening hours at the Shanghai Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum are 9:00-16:30, Monday through Sunday; during the summer night-gallery program in July and August, hours extend to 9:00-21:00 (excluding installation and teardown periods). Visitors can reach the venue by bus routes 827 (Shuicheng Road and Xianxia Road stop), 836 (Weining Road and Xianxia Road stop) or 72 (Shuicheng Road and Maotai Road stop), or by Metro Line 2 to Weining Road Station or Line 10 to Shuicheng Road Station.
The exhibition aims to spread Shanghai’s silk-embroidery craft and bring local heritage crafts back to life so more people can see the skill behind them. Built on locally distinctive stitching methods and spanning landscapes, flowers and birds, and humanistic scenes, the selection lets the city’s face and its Chinese aesthetic meet in silk thread — a midsummer cultural offering that pairs traditional technique with Shanghai-style taste for residents and travelers alike. Those interested can visit the Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum during the run; details are subject to on-site arrangements.