DON'T be fooled by this seemingly mundane urban strip - an artistic gem lies just off its main drag. Red Town on Huaihai Road W. features an impressive collection of art galleries, cafes and fashion boutiques that reflects the city's thriving art community and creative soul, giving Moganshan Road a run for its money. The former steel factory has been turned into a district where creativity in various forms can be found, including the famous Shanghai Sculpture Space, the Minsheng Art Museum and Hong Kong fashion and lifestyle retailer Joyce Warehouse. Here are a selection of galleries to stimulate the right side of your brain, eateries to satisfy your hunger and more on the quiet Huaihai Road W.

Shengling Art Gallery

The plexiglass fishpond at the threshold of this three-year-old gallery will entice you to explore the academic art inside its doors. Featuring a new exhibition from one of the more than 10 collaborative artists every month, Shengling Art Gallery has gained popularity over the years thanks to Red Town's increasing amount of reputation as a creative hub. The two-story gallery space is vast and impressive in design with a see-through glass floor upstairs. The current exhibition features the artist Sun Baijun from Shandong Province, whose ink paintings meld traditional Chinese art with abstract obscurity. But you'll have to be quick, the current show ends today.

Opening hours: 10am-5:30pm (closed on Mondays)

Address: A2-101, 570 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 5230-2981


Beca Cafe&Bar

The first thing one will notice upon entering Beca Cafe&Bar is the super-friendly staff. With a gastro-pub feel, Beca's menu also has gastro-pub prices with entrees ranging from 50-200 yuan (US$7.65-30.60). You won't be disappointed by the quality but portions are rather small considering the price. Beers are a great steal at 25 yuan for a pint of draft. The clientele is sophisticated from artsy gallery aficionados to young urban professionals. With the warm weather making an appearance, Beca provides ample outdoor seating to complete a relaxed and delicious cafe experience.

Opening hours: 10am-10pm

Address: C-6, 570 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 6280-7232


Million Club

Businessmen in search of high quality, tailor-made suits should look no further than Million Club. Tucked away on the ground floor of a red-brick building on the far-east corner of Red Town, this Japanese franchise launched its Huaihai Road W. location last September as part of its China expansion, although the brand dates back 130 years with modest beginnings in a factory in Japan. The store's clientele is not surprisingly 50 percent Japanese with the rest being Chinese and about five percent Euro-American.

Custom-made suits range in price, depending on style and fabrics and start at 1,980 yuan. Styles include standard to slim fit, with jackets of two or three buttons available.

Opening hours: 11am-7pm

Address: C7-103, 570 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 6115-5838


Shanghai Sculpture Space

Looking for three-dimensional art inspiration? The Shanghai Sculpture Space boasts several pieces by various Chinese creative talents that are sure to spark the imagination. The interior of the Sculpture Space is chic loft apartment meets Alice in Wonderland, with a colorful row of larger-than-life stilettos, vivid fruit-inspired pop art and a faceless bust arrangement reminiscent of Chile's far-flung Easter Island. The spacious art haven is also home to smaller shops and office spaces, and free admission will tempt even the most reluctant gallery goers to take a look around, and perhaps leave inspired.

Opening hours: 10am-5:30pm (closed on Mondays)

Address: 570 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 6280-7844 ext 204


Red Bookstore

Open since 2007, this small yet densely stocked bookstore located inside the Shanghai Sculpture Space caters mainly to a clientele of artists and designers with a sizable collection of books specializing in graphic arts, interior design, fashion and architecture. Most of the books are in English and range from 200 to 600 yuan as they are high-end publications and a bit of a rarity in Shanghai. While the bookshop owners chose the location because it is less commercial and more geared toward professional artists, tourists can also find books that will suit their artistic interests as the store holds much coffee table-worthy material; in fact Red Bookstore's best-seller is a catalogue of local art entitled "Creative Tour" displaying some of the finest works from last year. In this tiny 55-square-meter space you can find minimalist-style stationery from Hong Kong made using recycled materials.

Opening hours: 10am-5:30pm (closed on Mondays)

Address: B-118, inside Shanghai Sculpture Space, 570 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 6280-7162


D&D Coffee Gallery

Across the street from Red Town is this gallery-cafe hybrid offering delicious treats and trendy art. Unassuming from the outside, the interior exudes classic 1930s Shanghainese style mixed with Art Deco furniture and contemporary art by collaborative local artists. A recent renovation has given the place a fresh atmosphere, but this coffee shop seating only 30 people has been around for about six years and has a loyal customer base. A bit on the pricey side, a cup of coffee or tea will cost you about 35 yuan, but the selection of home-made cakes are well worth the price tag. And if you're in the mood to expand your art collection, the works on display are also up for sale.

Opening hours: 10am-10pm

Address: No. 1, Lane 229, Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 6281-5877, 6282-2382


Koala Bar

Aussie expats and tourists in Shanghai should look no further than Koala Bar if they're in need of some native nostalgia. With a relaxed atmosphere representative of the lifestyle Down Under, this local "billabong" is popular with students from Jiao Tong University. Walls adorned with didgeridoos surround pool and foosball tables, and there is always cold Victoria Bitter available. Koala Bar offers a variety of food options, from pizzas to sandwiches, pastas to salads and, of course, Aussie-style meat pies, all priced between 35 to 60 yuan. Perhaps most noteworthy are the countless drink specials offered throughout the week, including happy hour on Tuesdays which consists of buy-one-get-one-free Tiger beers and house pours, and "open bar" Saturdays from 10pm to 12pm every week for 100 yuan. A "g'day" will most certainly be had by all.

Opening hours: 10:30am-2am

Address: 280 Huaihai Rd W.

Tel: 5258-8779