About
Situated at the historic Rihui Port—the first sea-to-land transport platform in modern Chinese history—the Start Museum opened in 2022 as a cornerstone of the West Bund Cultural Corridor. Founded by collector He Juxing and designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel, the museum is housed in the meticulously restored 1907 Nanpu Railway Station warehouse. Nouvel’s design preserves the site’s industrial soul, integrating original railway tracks and two historic carriages into a contemporary "light-based" architectural language that pays tribute to traditional Chinese mortise-tenon structures.
The museum advocates for a "non-linear, de-thematic" approach to art history, focusing on the global contemporary art scene since the 1960s from a Chinese perspective. By emphasizing the individuality and independence of the artist, Start Museum functions as both a rigorous research institute and a pioneering public space. Its airy, beam-free interior and expansive rooftop platforms facilitate a direct dialogue between the city’s industrial past and its speculative future, gently cultivating a progressive urban culture along the Huangpu River.