The manga 'Half an Hour to Fall in Love with Jiading' arrives at a traveling exhibition

Shanghai is debuting a very peculiar exhibition these days: 'Half an Hour to Fall in Love with Jiading' has gone from being just a manga to becoming a physical journey through 800 years of history. The show opened in the X vehicle art space on the third floor of the Shanghai Automobile Exhibition Center.

The proposal comes from the Hunzhi team, which has created a very special figure to tell the city's story: 'Jiading', a character who embodies the town itself. With a direct and lighthearted comic language, the work breaks down the past and present of this area of Shanghai without falling into the academic tone that usually keeps people away from local history.

A city told in seven chapters

The exhibition is organized into three connected spaces. The main one is on the third floor, but there is also a quick area on the first floor and a photo spot in the east plaza. It doesn't matter where you enter: the route is designed so you follow a complete narrative line, from Jiading's origins to its current reality.

The content is divided into seven chapters with a '1+8+1' panel structure. It covers everything from the city's beginnings to its industrial fabric, including its cultural history. Original sketches and guides for each section are also on display, so the walk works like a timeline.

Exhibition room with works on the walls and sculptures in the center.finance.sina.com.cn

What catches our attention the most is the interactive part. When you buy a ticket, you get a scavenger-hunt-style task card: all the answers are hidden in the exhibition panels. If you complete the challenge, there's a prize. It's a way to force you to look carefully and not just walk past.

Serious fieldwork behind the humor

It's not an improvised project. Wang Xiaofeng, from Hunzhi's in-person course team, explained that to create the manga they didn't just review archives. They visited the Jiading Confucius Temple, the Fahua Pagoda, and talked with local history experts. They wanted to understand the area's architectural evolution, educational tradition, and folk stories.

The goal, Wang says, was to skip the boring historical narrative and use Hunzhi's signature style. So that anyone, regardless of age, can understand and enjoy the city. And there's a detail that sums up that intention perfectly: at the start of the exhibition, there's an illustrated scroll that splits the image in two. One half shows the ancient city; the other, modern car culture. Both coexist in the same painting.

Several illustrations from the comic exhibition on a wall.finance.sina.com.cn

That contrast between Jiangnan's classical legacy and the technological innovation of the motor industry is exactly what the exhibition wants to convey. Jiading is not just history or just industry: it's the mix of both.

The tour continues in November

The exhibition won't stay in Shanghai. In November, it will travel through twelve neighborhoods and towns in Jiading. It will enter community cultural centers, schools, commercial areas, and tourist spots. The idea is for people to see it without leaving their surroundings.

Comic displays in an exhibition room.finance.sina.com.cn

We love seeing how a local manga can transform into such a complete experience. Hopefully more cities would be encouraged to tell their history in this format. Half an Hour to Fall in Love with Jiading proves that comics serve much more than entertainment: they also connect people with the place where they live.