Until very recently, West Bund as a district meant little for art aficionados. Although seductive sound-bites like "corridor of culture" have been bandied around for some years now, frequent construction delays to keynote projects made the transformation of Xuhui Riverside seem remote. Then, late last year the area began brushing off the dust of months and months of construction, and step by step, it started to awaken. A music festival and West Bund Architecture Biennale led the way, with Long Museum’s opening this March 2014 furthering the locale’s cultural credentials. Now, with the glitzy launch of Yuz Museum this past weekend, the foundations are truly in place for what’s set to become one of Shanghai’s most dynamic districts. Housed inside a former hangar of the old Longhua Airport, Yuz Museum is the brainchild of Chinese-Indonesian collector, Budi Tek, an agribusiness tycoon who only started collecting art ten years ago. Within that time he’s not only amassed enough to fill two museums — the other is in Jakarta — he’s also widely-regarded as one of the art world’s most powerful figures. In short, Tek means business. To that end, his spectacular new museum spans an impressive 9000sqm, with its main exhibition hall alone — that former hangar space — covering an enormous 3000sqm. Dating from the 1930s, the building required not just extensive renovation, but also additional space for stuff like storage, cafes, events — all those extra bits and bobs that makes a museum thrive. Cue Japanese starchitect, Sou Fujimoto’s dramatic glass façade and inside, remodeling of the original volume to incorporate smaller galleries radiating off of that massive central hall. Debut show Myth/History profiles the enormousness of the space to stunning effect, with that central hall housing works as bold as they are big. Beckoning visitors inside and paving the way for the scale of what’s on display here is Zhang Huan’s massive copper Buddha Hand. Behind are a number of dramatic installation pieces by international talents, all positioned around Algerian artist Adel Abedessemed’s twisting airplane hybrid, Telle Mère Tel Fils. Buddha Hand, Zhang Huan Tapping into the theme of this section — myths — is Choe U-Ram’s enchanting Custos Cavum. A kinetic creature in silver and gold; it feels all the more magical for the intimacy of its setting, boxed off from the main space inside a darkened tent. Evoking the wrathful writhing of some imaginary sea monster (to me, at least), Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s Freedom sets an altogether more unnerving tone — in more ways than one. Comprising a metal cube filled with several feet of rust-colored water, a high-pressure hose is periodically let loose inside, its thrashing and lurching visible through a series of portholes. It’s kind of terrifying, not least because at the press view it was clearly leaking… Tobacco Project, Xu Bing PHOTO: Neville Mars Safely positioned at the other end of the space are works from Xu Bing’s Tobacco Project. Anyone looking to break the habit should steer clear of the most pungent piece on show: a tiger print "carpet" comprising 660,000 cigarettes. Next to that is Huang Yongping’s mighty Tower Snake, an otherworldly, seemingly prehistoric metallic skeleton, fused with bamboo scaffolding like some construction-era tyrant. Positioned around this jaw-droppingly impressive showcase is a series of galleries, all housing works that though smaller in scale, are no less punchy. Numbers one, two and three are well worth seeking out for stunning pieces by Yoko Ono, Mona Hatoum and, in particular, Fred Sandback. That multi-level, airy glass atrium, closely followed by BIG works in an even BIGGER space, juxtaposed with smaller works that perfectly fit their more intimate galleries — it all points to an emphasis on spatial experience. It’s a message that’s reinforced through Li Hui’s Door: a clever, low-lit set-up of mirrors and lasers that museum-goers must "cross through" to access the second floor. (There’s also an elevator… but where’s the fun in that?) Custos Cavum, Choe Uram Spanning the length of the upstairs space are stunning photographic works by the likes of Yang Fudong, Luo Yongjin and Zhang Huan. Delve into the adjacent galleries for a "who’s who" of contemporary Chinese art history. Think Ding Yi’s mesmerizing "cross paintings", Liu Wei’s experiments in abstraction and texture, and portraiture from Zhang Enli and Qi Zhilong. So, first impressions are pretty positive: a star-studded show, housed inside spectacular architecture and with enough "wow" factor to engage, no matter your art-geek credentials. We’ll watch and wait to see to what extent Yuz fulfills its museum remit in terms of education, and most importantly, contributing to Shanghai’s art scene. For now, though, two thumbs up. Go visit, and for more info, check here. Calligraphy on Utility Box No. 2, Tsang Tsou Choi PHOTO: Neville Mars