Steel manufacturing has played an important role in the development of Shanghai as a metropolis, meanwhile leaving behind used industrial zones in need of transformation. One such old steel mill in the Baoshan district is currently under a renewal project to be turned into a campus of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, also a time-honored institution of the city since the early 20th century.

An exhibition now on at China Art Museum pays tribute to the history of steel making in Shanghai, how the industry has shaped the city and how the industrial relics will be given a different life with the introduction of art.