This talk presents research from Jenny Lin’s recently published book, Above Sea: Contemporary Art, Urban Culture, and the Fashioning of Global Shanghai, which explores contemporary art, architecture, fashion and film created in and about Shanghai, long known as mainland China’s most cosmopolitan metropolis. Lin examines key projects, such as installations by artists Cai Guo-Qiang and Liu Jianhua, which engage, construct and/or critique Shanghai’s mythical ‘East-meets-West’ status and re-emerging position as an international financial and cultural capital.