Top 5 Museums in Shanghai
As a recognized international metropolis, in addition to the prosperous economy, Shanghai also has a rich historical and cultural charm. Museum is not only a visiting card of one city, but also an epitome of culture and history of one city. Visiting museums is also a quick way to learn about the city. If you are interested in the history and culture of Shanghai, China, maybe this article Top 5 Museums in Shanghai is helpful for you.
1. Shanghai Museum
Museum is an important place for the city's expanding cultural influence. If you travel to Beijing without visiting the Forbidden City, travel to London without visiting the Great Britain Museum, or travel to New York without visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you will have pities on this trip. The historical museum is an important carrier of the city's culture. Shanghai Museum is such a charming museum. It is located in No. 210, Peoples Avenue, Huangpu District, Shanghai. Built in 1952, Shanghai Museum is completely a comprehensive museum in Shanghai.
Shanghai Museum covers a total architecture area of 39,200 square meters and a display area of 2,800 square meters, equipped with eleven special halls and three exhibition halls. Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art with nearly one million pieces of cultural relics. There are a great number of bronze wares, chinaware, calligraphies, paintings, etc. The cultural relics of Shanghai Museum make up half the culture relics list of China. Please note that the Shanghai Museum closes on Mondays.
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2. Shanghai History Museum
Located in the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai History Museum is a landmark museum that comprehensively reflects the local history of Shanghai. It is one of the top 5 museums in Shanghai that worth a visit. Covering an area of 10,000 square meters and an exhibition area of 9,800 square meters, Shanghai History Museum dedicated to collect local cultural relics specimens. There are more than 1,000 sets of cultural relics.
Shanghai History Museum specializes in researching and displaying the local natural environment, resources, social and historical development and construction achievements. Three permanent exhibition halls of the east building, including the Preface Hall, the Ancient Shanghai and the Modern Shanghai, comprehensively sort out the history of Shanghai and show the vital nodes and major revolutionary events of Shanghai in all historical periods of Shanghai.
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3. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is not only an important science education base, but also a leisure tourism base in Shanghai. It is located on the west side of Century Plaza and close to Century Park. With a theme of "Nature, People, Technology" and the aim of the public scientific and technological literacy, it is the largest science popularization education palace in Shanghai. Covering an area of over 68,000 square meters and an architecture area of 98,000 square meters, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum includes eleven theme exhibition areas with different styles, four high-tech cinemas, three art galleries of ancient and modern scientists around the world and their footprints, two special theme exhibitions and several temporary exhibition halls.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum consists of one underground storey, four over-ground stories and an affiliated office complex. The whole building is spiral in shape, which refers to the continuous progress of science and technology. One huge iconic glass sphere is embedded in a pool of water, which symbolizes the birth of life. Visitors can take part in some simple design and manufacturing activities. Everyone can be a designer here. It is one of the top 5 museums in Shanghai that you should not miss.
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4. Shanghai Natural History Museum
Shanghai Natural History Museum is one of the largest museums in China. It is a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum that locates in the Jing'an Sculpture Park in Shanghai. Shanghai Natural History Museum was officially built in 1956 based on the former Zhendan Museum and the former Shanghai Museum. Covering a total architecture area of 45,257 square meters, Shanghai Natural History Museum possesses more than 290,000 collections, including the relics of nature and human history around the world.
The collections are divided into five categories, including plants, animals, palaeobios, geologies and humanities. There are more than 150,000 plant specimens, 4,000 mammal specimens, about 33,000 insect specimens, 50,000 invertebrate specimens, 8,000 paleontological specimens, 3500 pieces of humanities specimens and more than 10,000 specimens of fish, birds, and amphibians in the museum.
5. Shanghai Telecom Museum
The earliest form of telecommunications is the telegram, and Shanghai is the first city in China that offered the telegram service to the public. Founded in 1871, Shanghai Telecom Museum is the first telegraph operation room in Shanghai, which symbolized the birth of the telecommunications industry. The exhibitions include the telegraph communication, the local telephone communication, the wireless communication, the long-distance telephone communication and the comprehensive information.
In the Shanghai Telecom Museum, there are a lot of objects making you remind of the past years, such as the hand-operated telephone, the "big brother" mobile phone which is bigger than a brick, the lead-covered cable which is thicker than the bowl, and so on. You should not miss visiting this museum, one of the top 5 museums in Shanghai.
