Shanghai Attractions

Venue: Shanghai Museum    When: Daily

Located on People's Square, the Shanghai Museum is one of the city's main highlights, housing over 120,000 historical artefacts and covering a period spanning from prehistory to the last imperial dynasty.

The museum is organised into 11 state-of-the-art galleries and three special exhibitions, exquisitely and tastefully arranged with captions and explanations that are very comprehensive. The collections range from bronze, calligraphy, coins, ceramics and sculptures to the art of ethnic minorities within China. In particular, the paintings, calligraphy and collection of bodhisattvas are worth visiting.

As a mascot of this fast-developing city, the Chinese have taken care to get the details of Shanghai Museum right, with information displays (in Chinese and English) and general presentation all top notch. The building itself is modern, but retains the influence of the past. It is said to resemble a bronze mirror from the Han dynasty era and gives the visitor an impression of serenity upon entrance.

Although the museum contains fewer objects than the largest museums in Beijing and Taipei, it is nevertheless one of Shanghai's (and China's) top attractions.