Shanghai: Day 2 Experience Chinese History in Shanghai Museum

Shanghai: Day 2 Experience Chinese History in Shanghai Museum

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We went on to Shanghai Museum after the short exploration of the flower garden in Jing’an Culture Park.

Due to that extra itinerary, we were running a little late for our self-exploration at the museum. Their closing hours are usually early and last entry is at 4.30pm. We had allocated about 3 hours to explore but now, we only had about 2 hours or less.

When we reached the impressive huge entrance, we were in for a shock. There was a snaking long queue to even go in! Due to the large number of visitors, they restricted access to Shanghai museum and the queue would only move after a certain time.

There was no choice but to bask in the afternoon sun and feeling anxious that I would not able to see anything much since it would close soon. Finally, after 20 minutes, we were in!

To save time, we decided to tour only those galleries I was extremely interested in. Starting from the topmost floor (4th Floor), we moved down.

Shanghai Museum – List of Galleries to explore

At the Level 4 Gallery, ancient Chinese jade and porcelain items were on display . In the gallery, we watched an informative video on how jade was discovered, collected and refined into the jade stones we see now. The process is extremely tedious and made me appreciate the artisan’s work when I saw the items on display.

If you like beautiful porcelain vases, be prepared to be amazed as there was a huge collection here.

Beside the main gallery, there was a gallery of ceramics which came from the private collection of a financial magnate. They kindly donated the ceramics collection to the museum and many were precious Qing Dynasty porcelains. I love to look at these unique designs on vases, especially the blue contrast on white – a signature of the Qing Dynasty.

Dar declared that he like the “青花瓷” too（Qing Hua Ci – Qing dynasty porcelain) and even bought a souvenir of it at a night market later.

Soon, we came upon a museum exhibit of a ceramics workshop.

It came with a fake dragon kiln and several ceramics-making tools to educate the public on the craft. This was educational for Dar to learn about the tools after a walk through the ceramic galleries.

While walking into the Chinese currency gallery, we came across this coin souvenir machine. Dar wanted one so we tried making it for the first time. He turned the wheel for a few rounds and the design “pressed” into the coin. It was quite a fun activity to do to get our Shanghai Museum souvenir.

Attracted by the impressive hanging cloth item on the ceiling (the first featured picture in the article), we strolled into the gallery for Chinese minorities. The displays were nice and each item was a colourful piece of art.

Reaching the furniture gallery, I was impressed again. The designs of the furniture were unique and the intricate details of each item must have taken a long time to achieve.

Each furniture was also well-preserved, labelled with their story in English and Chinese. That was how we knew which dynasty it belonged to. The children enjoyed looking at the displays too, though Ling was mostly in her stroller as it was too crowded to let her walk.

Information from one of the displays: The large-size throne chair was specially designed for emperors in Ancient China. It was shaped like a bed with bulging legs, convex aprons and a continuous floor stretcher. Gold painting, red lacquer carvings, inlays of other materials and hardwood engraving were all used for decoration. Usually a large screen set in a stand was placed behind it to provide a solemn and dignified setting.

No time for Calligraphy

Regrettably, we skipped the gallery for calligraphy and paintings even though drawing is one of my passions. We ran out of time! I do hope to see them again if I ever visit China.

[ Summary ]

We had only managed to explore two floors of the Shanghai Museum with our 1 hour plus visit.

  • 4th Floor – Chinese Currency Gallery | Ancient Chinese Jade Gallery | Chinese Ming and Qing Furniture Gallery | Chinese Minority Nationalities’ Art Gallery.
  • 2nd Floor – Ancient Chinese Ceramics Gallery | Zande Lou Ceramics Gallery

In all, I was quite impressed with the way they displayed the items with interesting lighting and artistic decorations. The selection of historical items were so pretty that I could not get enough of looking at them.

Walking out from the museum feeling enriched, we headed back to rest after a long day. In the evening, we would be heading to Shanghai Pearl Tower (ended up at Shanghai Tower instead).

[ MORE INFO ]

Shanghai Museum Website

  • Place: Shanghai Museum on People’s Square
  • Location: 201 Ren Min Da Dao (South Entrance Gate on Wusheng Road)
  • Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 9:00—17:00, last entry at 16:00. Closed on Mondays (except national holidays)
  • Admission Fee: Free. Reservation for individual visitors is not required beginning 01 Sept 2025. Foreign tourists can get a ticket with valid passport at the tourist center. 
  • Note: Reservations are required during peak periods, including national holidays, school vacations, and major special exhibitions and may be made 14 days in advance.

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