The Best Museums in Shanghai to Visit: Complete Guide

There are many ways to explore Shanghai. Some people are fascinated by the streets under the sycamore trees, some prefer the exquisite villas, and some are willing to wander into the alleys to get a glimpse of Shanghai life in the last century. I would like to share a seemingly specific but very surprising way to explore Shanghai: visiting museums in Shanghai!

Some people may think that visiting a museum is too science-oriented and not fun enough. Shanghai museums will definitely subvert your cognition.

Most of the museums in Shanghai are related to modern history, and the themes are also varied, such as cinema, postal service, values… These are all stories that are closely related to us and even what we are experiencing now, and it is very immersive to visit them.

Furthermore, the architecture of many museums in Shanghai is very beautiful. Some are located in historic Western-style buildings. The design of new museums also has a futuristic and technological feel. Photography enthusiasts also love visiting museums. Furthermore, the level of exhibition planning at the Shanghai Museum is definitely the best in China. Today, I have compiled a relatively comprehensive list of "Information on Various Museums in Shanghai," including key information such as museum admission prices and reservation methods.

Whether you are traveling with your children, your partner or your best friends, these museums will definitely surprise you.

List of major museums in Shanghai

Museum	Contact	Opening hours	Entry
Shanghai Natural History Museum	No. 510, West Beijing Street	Tuesday to Sunday: 9:00 – 17:00; Monday: closed (open on public holidays)	30 RMB * appointment required
Shanghai Glass Museum	No. 685, West Changjiang Street	Tuesday to Friday: Main hall: 10:00 – 17:00; Other rooms: closed; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: Main headquarters: 10:00 – 17:00; Other rooms: 11:00 – 17:00; Monday: closed	The main museum: 80 RMB Including all rooms: 150 RMB * appointment required
Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts	No. 79, Fenyang Road	Tuesday to Sunday: 9:00 – 11:30 and 13:00 – 16:00; Monday: closed (open on public holidays)	8 RMB * appointment required
Shanghai Metro Museum	No. 1779, Wuzhong Road	Tuesday to Sunday: 9:30 – 16:00; Monday: closed	Adults 30 RMB, children 15 RMB Free on Tuesdays
China Maritime Museum	No. 197, Shengang Avenue	Tuesday to Sunday: 9:30 – 16:00; Monday: closed (open on public holidays)	Adults 30 rmb * appointment required

Shanghai Natural History Museum 上海自然博物馆

It is one of the largest natural history museums in China.

The Shanghai Natural History Museum has over 290.000 nature-related exhibits, including numerous animal specimens and models, making it a great place to take the kids for a stroll.

The recommended order of visits is from the second floor down.

The "Mystery of Origin" on the second floor is about the Big Bang. There's also a 4D cinema, and the list of films includes "African Savannah," "Firefly," and "Panda Gungun." Films last 15 to 20 minutes, and admission is 30 RMB per ticket.

The first floor is the busiest place. Many spectacular animal specimens can be seen walking from the second floor to the first floor spiral walkway. There is also a natural experience exhibition area with live reptiles to see.

There are many fossils on the B1 plant, which tell the story from the first creature on Earth to the birth of humanity.

Shanghai Glass Museum 上海玻璃博物馆

This is one of the best museums in Shanghai to visit with children.

The predecessor of the Shanghai Museum of Glass was the Shanghai Glass Instrument Factory. Today, it is the first museum dedicated to glass in Shanghai and even in China.

The museum as a whole is very large, with a main hall, a children's museum, a glass maze and a special exhibition of broken objects.

The main hall has won numerous national and international design awards. Its exterior walls are made of glass. If you look carefully, you will find glass-related terms in four languages. There are 2 floors and 7 exhibition halls in total, with nearly a thousand glass exhibits, introducing the history of origin, technical processes, scientific and technological applications of glass, etc.

There's an exhibit you should take your children to see. It was originally called "Angel Wings," but was later damaged by naughty children and is now called "Folding." Along with the exhibits, there's an endless loop of damaged surveillance video, which is educational.

The Children's Museum has two floors.

On the first floor, there are many glass courses you can experience, including introductory courses such as mosaic, glass beading and glass painting, and advanced courses such as hot glass blowing. (Advance reservation required)

The second floor has 26 exhibits with 26 English letters as clues, and children can receive an exclusive game manual.

The Crystal Maze is a visual game of refraction and reflection. Before entering, you'll receive a card with clues. You must match 8 patterns. If you successfully complete the registration, you'll also receive a "Maze Master" certificate.

The Broken exhibition features 21 sharp and broken works, each of which even has its own background music. If a highly sensitive person were to see it, it would be easy for them to be "moved to the soul." Here, you can even break a glass yourself.

For non-highly sensitive people, this is a great place to take photos.

There is also a thermal theatre in the Shanghai Glass Museum, and all the artists are professional glassblowing masters. It is no exaggeration to say that this is undoubtedly one of the best performances you can see in national museums (after all, not many museums have theatres). The sparks projected before your eyes scattered like fireworks, like a dream.

Overall, the Shanghai Glass Museum is especially suitable for taking children for a whole day. Don't worry about food, there is also a Western restaurant in the museum that not only serves coffee, but also light meals and children's meals.

Please note that the opening hours of the branch and the main glass museum are different. The Children's Glass Museum, the Glass Labyrinth and the Broken Glass Exhibition are only open on weekends and public holidays.

Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum 上海工艺美术博物馆

The rumored “Little White House” is the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts, a French Renaissance-style building built in 1905 with a glossy white exterior wall.

There are two floors in total. On the first floor, you can admire numerous traditional works of art and crafts, such as carvings, velvet embroidery, clay modelling and paper cutting, which are tangible cultural heritage.

On the second floor is the traditional craft workshop, which exhibits intangible cultural heritage (excellent traditional craft skills).

The spiral staircases and hallways of the building are very photogenic.

Shanghai Metro Museum 上海地铁博物馆

The Shanghai Metro Museum is the first metro-themed museum in China and tells the story of the development of the Shanghai Metro. The World Metro Association once hailed Shanghai's rail transport system as "a miracle of urban metro construction and development in the world." In just 20 years, 20 metro lines were built.

The most fun things to do at the museum are the “Subway Tunnel Walking Experience” and the “Subway Driving Simulator.”

A subway tunnel construction landscape has been built in the museum, so you can experience the atmosphere of subway construction in the dark.

Subway driving simulation allows you to experience a driverless subway and also simulates the operation of a subway driver. It takes exactly 3 minutes to complete one stop.

China Maritime Museum 中国航海博物馆

The China Maritime Museum is China's first national maritime museum. At the center of the building are two 58-meter-high "sails." The entire museum resembles a giant sailing ship by Dishui Lake.

The museum has six main exhibition halls: maritime history, ships, navigation and seaports, maritime affairs and maritime safety, seafarers and military navigation.

At the Ship Museum there is a virtual welding exhibition, where you can experience the work of a welding engineer.

In the Museum of Navigation and Seaports you can see various primitive tools of astronomical navigation, such as star tracking boards, modern sextants, octants, compasses, nautical charts…

The Military Navigation Museum is the most solemn and mysterious, with models of various warships, such as the aircraft carrier "Liaoning", the destroyer "Anshan", the missile destroyer "Jinan", etc.

The treasure of the museum is a large-sized Fu boat from the Ming Dynasty, built in a 1:1 ratio, which makes people feel as if they have traveled to the period when Zheng He sailed to the West.

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