Shanghai

The deserted glass factory in the Northern Shanghai Baoshan district has stayed empty since the mid-1990s, awaiting its transformation. On May 18, the 60-year old workshops glittered and sparkled in their collective re-birth as the Shanghai Museum of Glass. This is just the first stage of metamorphosis.

"The goal is to build a glass-themed park in the area," says Zhang Lin, CEO of the museum. "You will be able to find everything about glass here - from artists' studios, glass art exhibitions, exporters' offices, research and development in glass processing, whatever you can think of."

Walking through the entrance fronted by glass sculptures almost two meters' tall, visitors enter an interactive hall where they can play touch-screen games to learn about the formation, functions and characters of glass. Then, passing through a passage, they are faced with an exhibition of antique glass from the beginning of civilization.

Ancient Chinese glassware known as liuli are exhibited alongside pieces from other countries.

The Corning Museum of Glass in the United States, one of the most prestigious glass museums in the world, allowed the Shanghai Museum of Glass to use many images of its collection, which enriched the fledgling museum's exhibits of Western glass.

After that, the visitor ends up in a seemingly out-of-place corner with slightly rusty machines scattered around worktops.

"This is an open studio for visitors," Zhang explains. Every day, except for Mondays, any one can try glass carving and polishing under the guidance of experienced workers in the studio.

In another workshop, visitors can see artisans processing hot glass at 2:30 pm on weekdays, and also at 10:30 am and 2:30 pm on weekends.

The exhibition hall upstairs features contemporary glass by artists at home and abroad, all exploring the versatility of glass.

The mission and vision for the Shanghai Museum of Glass is to lead China's glass industry to a higher level of creativity. And it's poised to do exactly that.

China Daily