Shanghai's earliest antique market building in Yuyuan Garden Malls reopened on Monday after a major facelift, and now features traditional Chinese culture, heritage artisanship and nostalgic antique bazaars.

The renovated Huabao Mansion, neighboring the City God Temple, a local landmark, will mainly host art exhibitions, livestreaming podcasts and literati gathering. The historical garden was once a popular site for local men of letters to gather and compose poems or draw ink paintings together.

The building will become a popular social hub again, gathering inheritors of heritage skills, antique collectors and professional art organizations to highlight traditional Chinese culture, according to the malls.

The inaugural exhibition of China's blue and white porcelain opened on Monday to mark the official reopening of the landmark building. Twenty-one of China's leading oil painting, sculpture and art installation artists were invited to create more than 70 porcelain plate paintings, ceramics and sculptures.

The exhibition, to run through mid-February, is jointly hosted by the malls and the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in Jiangxi Province, which is famous for ceramics.

"Jingdezhen ceramics have had great influence on the world, but the traditional artisanship and patterns lack independent artistic language in modern times," said Luo Xiaocong, the curator of the exhibition.

The exhibition aims to fuel the evolution of the heritage skill dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC- 220) with new concepts, innovation and a combination with the contemporary art, he added.

After the exhibition, the mansion will invite other original places of China's world-famous heritage artisanship, such as Yixing in neighboring Zhejiang Province which is famous for dark-red enameled pottery and Dongyang which is known for its wooden carving.

The Huabao Mansion was originally built in September 1994. The Old City God Temple Arts and Crafts Store was relocated to the building from the main hall of the temple. It thus became the earliest antique market as well as arts and craft store in Shanghai after the reform and opening-up.

It gained popularity among customers from across the world with its artworks, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. Customers could "order" their favorite artists to paint on site.

Lai Dequan, a popular artist from Jingdezhen, opened his personal stall for porcelain in the building in 1998, creating a trend for the collection of ceramics among local collectors. A porcelain plate painting was sold by 80,000 yuan (US$12,550) in 2007.

The four-story building launched a major renovation last year to revive the former prosperity and status on the arts and craft sectors.

The retail space has been largely replaced by social facilities such as tea tables and exhibition halls. Time-honored porcelain kilns, tea houses and dark-red enameled pottery brands have been invited to the mansion.

An auction place has been set up on the third floor. The first auction of Jingdezhen porcelain will be held in February 2022 with 567 antiques or artworks by famous artists.

As a highlight, the former antique market has been restored on the B1 floor. Around 80 stalls, mostly old operators at the building, have been invited to trade various antiques such as porcelain, jade, stone carving and wooden sculpture.

If you go:

Address: 265 Fangbang Road M., Huabao Mansion

Nearest subway: Metro Line 10 Yuyuan Garden Station, Exit No. 3

Admission to the mansion: Free

COVID-19 prevention: Facial mask and health code required

Date of porcelain exhibition: through February 15

Ticket price for exhibition: 80 yuan (US$12.6)