Shanghai Museum　上海博物馆

Shanghai Museum, inaugurated on October 12, 1996, is a museum of ancient Chinese arts. Designed by Shanghai Research Institute of Architectural Designing, the museum stands on the central axis line of the People's Square, opposite to the high-rise building of Shanghai Municipal Government.

With an architectural space of over 40000 m² (12000 m² floor space for exhibition), the museum is 29.5 m high, with two stories underground and five stories aboveground. The whole structure is a huge dome on a square base.

The museum is famous for its collection of over 123000 high grade cultural relics and more than 20 categories, such as bronze vessels, calligraphy and painting, ceramics, bones and tortoise shells, numismatics, etc. Besides, the museum has a high caliber in the research and restoration of cultural relics.

At present, Shanghai Museum has 11 theme-based showrooms, 1 special room for donated relics, and 3 exhibition halls. The more than 4,000 relics on display are all original objects. The museum has Hall of Chinese Calligraphy of Various Dynasties, Hall of Ancient Bronze Vessels, Hall of Sculpture, Hall of Ceramics, Hall of Paintings, Hall of Imperial Seals, Hall of Jade Articles, Hall of Numismatics, Hall of Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hall of Handicrafts by Chinese Minority Peoples, etc.

Shanghai Museum has imported 500 sets of digital tour guides recorded in 8 languages including Chinese, English, French, and Japanese. In the main hall and the entire exhibition halls, multimedia touch screens are installed. The lighting in the museum is controlled by computers. The first-class exhibits and the first-class environment fully demonstrate that Shanghai Museum has already reached the first-class level in the world.

Standing on both sides of the south entrance are 8 white marble sculptures, which are the enlarged duplicates of the precious collections. These stone lions from the Han and Tang Dynasties as well as Tianlu, i.e. a kind of mythical animal, seem to be safeguarding the invaluable treasures; meanwhile, they symbolize the sacredness and dignity of the museum.

The Exhibition Halls of Shanghai Museum

On the first floor, there is the Hall of Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels, with a floor space of about 1,200 m² and with dark green as its basic color. Over 400 exquisite bronze articles are exhibited in the hall: wine containers, food containers, water containers, weapons, and musical instruments. The most noteworthy exhibit is the Dake Vessel, which was unearthed in Shaanxi Province in 1890. The vessel is approximately 201.5 kg and has more than 290 Chinese characters of inscription cast on its interior side in praise of the ancestor's official accomplishments and the awards granted by the king. The interior inscription is an important feature in the manufacture of bronze vessels at that time, and the inscription makes the vessels invaluable, because the inscription is the first-hand material for the research of the society and history. And the characters of inscription are a vital link in the development of Chinese characters, thus extremely invaluable.

The cultural relics in the Hall of Bronze Vessels offer a relatively complete reflection of the historical development of ancient Chinese bronze art. The bronze vessels are part of the most important collections of Shanghai Museum, and one of the most glorious cultural heritages of China.

The Hall of Sculpture is also set on the first floor. With gold, red, and black as its primary hues, the hall displays a solemn and enthusiastic atmosphere. In this hall there are over 120 precious exhibits from various times of China, including the wooden figures of the Warring States Period, the earthen figures of the West Han Dynasty, the earthen figures playing the musical instrument of the East Han Dynasty, the stone portraits of the East Han Dynasty, the stone statue of Buddha of the North Wei Dynasty, the colored earthen Bodhisattva of the North Wei Dynasty from Denghuang, the wooden arhat sculpture of the Tang Dynasty, the gilded eleven-face bronze sculpture of Avalokitesvara of the Tang Dynasty, the colored earthen sculpture of Avalokitesvara of the Ming Dynasty, etc. Among the earthen figures of the West Han Dynasty, the dancing figure deserves special attention.

The Hall of Paintings is on the second floor, with an exhibiting space of about 1,200 m². Here on display are more than 120 choice paintings from different dynasties. Chinese painting reached its maturity as early as the Tang Dynasty. In the period of the Five Dynasties and the North and South Dynasties, the mountains-and-waters painting made great progress because of the influence by Buddhist ideology and the advent of the poetry in praise of mountains and waters. Therefore, different schools of painting emerged. Later on, in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, more schools came into being. The paintings exhibited here represent the outstanding achievements of painting in various periods.

The Hall of Calligraphy and the Hall of Imperial Seals are on the third floor. With a floor space of 600 m², the Hall of Calligraphy mainly exhibits the calligraphic works, about 80 choice ones, by masters from the Tang and Song Dynasties.

The Hall of Imperial Seals, with a floor space of over 380 m², shows about 500 imperial seals of different kinds. The exhibition of the seals here is based on the developmental history of the seal art. The exhibition falls into four parts, starting from the West Zhou Period to the end of the Qing Dynasty. The exhibits are said to be the best selected from a collection of over 10,000 seals.

On the fourth floor, there are the Hall of Ancient Chinese Jade Articles, the Hall of Chinese Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Hall of Handicrafts by Chinese Minority Peoples, and the Hall of Chinese Numismatics.

With a floor space of about 500 m², the Hall of Ancient Chinese Jade Articles displays over 400 precious jade articles of various times: the Neolithic Age, the Songze and Liangzhu Periods of Shanghai, the feudal dynasties, etc.

The Hall of Chinese Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties leaves visitors the impression as if they were in the residences of ancient Chinese gardens. The five sections occupy a total floor space of nearly 700 m², more than 100 pieces of choice furniture on display.

The Hall of Handicrafts by Chinese Minority Peoples, covering a floor space of over 700 m², displays approximately 600 handicrafts. All the exhibits, by other minority peoples, fully demonstrate their wisdom and craftsmanship as well as their pursuit for good life. The exhibits are the unusual treasures of the Chinese culture.

The Hall of Chinese Numismatics has a collection of ancient coins, which definitely rank top in China, both in quantity and in quality. The exhibits include ancient coins of the pre-Qin Period, the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and the foreign banknotes circulated in China.

In recent years, Shanghai Museum has carried out quite a few exchange activities. A great many important exhibitions from home and abroad have been held here, such as the Exhibition of Chinese National Treasures, the Exhibition of Xizang Cultural Relics, the Exhibition of Pre-Roman Cultural Relics from Italy, and the Exhibition of Maya Cultural Relics from Mexico. Moreover, its library has a collection of more than 200,000 books. There is also a courtyard-style VIP lounge in the basement. And there is a group of professionals in every hall that offer free service for the tourists.

Address: No.201, People's Avenue

Tel.: 021-63723500

Open Hours: 9:00 - 16:00