Museums in Shanghai

The Shanghai Post Museum occupies the top floors of the grand 1924 General Post Office building on Suzhou Creek, offering free exhibits on China's postal history and a rooftop terrace with rare close-up views of the Bund's historic buildings.

The Shanghai Museum is one of China's premier repositories of ancient art, housing over 120,000 artifacts across 11 permanent galleries. Its distinctive bronze ding-vessel silhouette, designed by architect Xing Tonghe, has become a landmark of People's Square.

The Shanghai Film Museum chronicles over a century of Chinese cinema across four floors, from the silent-film era of the 1920s to the global blockbusters of today. Interactive exhibits let visitors try dubbing, editing, and special effects.

The Shanghai Natural History Museum occupies a biomorphic, nautilus-inspired building in Jing'an Sculpture Park. Housing over 290,000 specimens, it traces the history of life from the Big Bang to modern biodiversity with striking dioramas and immersive multimedia.

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is one of the most visited science museums in the world, drawing over five million visitors annually. Its futuristic glass-and-steel structure in Pudong houses hundreds of interactive exhibits across 13 themed halls.

The Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China is where thirteen delegates gathered in July 1921 to found the CPC. The extensively renovated museum presents a comprehensive account of the party's founding and early years.

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is housed in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in Hongkou district, documenting the extraordinary story of approximately 23,000 Jewish refugees who found sanctuary in Shanghai during World War II.

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center houses a massive scale model of the entire city on its third floor, measuring over 600 square meters. The museum documents Shanghai's transformation from a fishing village to a global megacity.

The Power Station of Art is mainland China's first state-run museum dedicated to contemporary art, housed in a converted 1897 power plant on the south bank of Suzhou Creek. Its 165-meter chimney, painted with a giant thermometer, is an unmistakable landmark.

The Propaganda Poster Art Centre is a small, privately curated museum hidden in the basement of a residential apartment block, displaying over 6,000 original Chinese propaganda posters from the 1940s through the 1980s.