Building China: Landscapes of Change
Paintings, photographs, drawings, films and objects on seventy years of change in China's cities, at the Holden Gallery on Cavendish Street.
Building China: Landscapes of Change is a free exhibition at the Holden Gallery in Manchester, open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 16:30, from 2 to 10 November 2026. It is part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester, and it asks what it means to build a country beyond its dams, roads, housing developments and fast-changing cities.
What is in the exhibition
The show brings together paintings, photographs, drawings, films and objects spanning more than seventy years of transformation. It runs from artistic visions of socialist reconstruction in the 1950s and a British architect's photographs of China in 1975 to contemporary research into streets, markets, parks and infrastructure. The works take visitors from the changing neighbourhoods of Shanghai to the food markets of Nanjing, the public parks of Shenzhen and the layered transport infrastructure of Chongqing.
A different story of urban change
Rather than telling China's transformation as a straightforward story of high-speed urbanisation, the exhibition looks at how new developments reshape established ways of living, and how people keep making places their own through work, exchange, care and everyday encounters. Contributors include Rujin Wang, Ziqiu Ren, Qiwei Peng, Xin Li and Deljana Iossifova from the Urban Studies Lab at The University of Manchester, among others.
Practical details
The Holden Gallery is in the Grosvenor Building of Manchester Metropolitan University on Cavendish Street, M15 6BR. Entry is free. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 16:30. The exhibition closes on 10 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
When is Building China: Landscapes of Change on in Manchester?
From 2 to 10 November 2026, Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 16:30, at the Holden Gallery.
Where is the Holden Gallery?
In the Grosvenor Building of Manchester Metropolitan University, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BR.
Is entry free?
Yes, entry is free.
This is an independent informational guide compiled by the Manchester Society for its members; we are not the organiser of this event. All official information lives on the organiser's website. Details are subject to change; always confirm before making plans.
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