The Taiyuan Art Museum occupies a purpose-built contemporary building on the western bank of the Fen River and hosts rotating exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art alongside permanent displays of Shanxi-related painting and craft traditions. The building itself — a clean, modern gallery space — is one of the better examples of the public architecture investment that Taiyuan has made along the river corridor over the last decade. The permanent collection includes works in the Shanxi folk art tradition, particularly the paper-cutting and embroidery traditions of the rural plateau.
The museum is free and well-organised, and the exhibition programme changes regularly enough that a return visit on a longer stay in Taiyuan is worthwhile. The café on the ground floor has river views.