Located in the center of Shanghai in People's Square, Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art. Its style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land. The museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities. The bronze ware of the Shang and Zhou dynasties contribute to our understanding of ancient civilization. The over 400 pieces of exquisite bronze wares cover the history of ancient Chinese bronze art. The ancient ceramics collection is a special Shanghai Museum treasure. Among the more than 500 pieces are artwork from various dynasties, such as painted and gray pottery from the Neolithic age, primitive celadon from the Shang, Zhou and Warring States, mature celadon from the East Han Dynasty, the well known tri-colored glazed pottery from the Tang Dynasty, blue, white and black glazed as well as painted porcelain from the Song, Jin and Liao, and the brilliant works from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, the center of the industry during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Chinese paintings and calligraphy have profound traditions and unique national styles. Masterpieces from different periods and genres are featured. The Gallery of Chinese Ancient Sculpture focuses mainly on Buddhist sculptures. Jade in ancient China was both decoration and the symbol of wealth and power. It was further personified to symbolize perfect morality. The elegance of jade wares glows through its crystal colors and vivid patterns. The Ming and Qing dynasties witnessed the heyday of Chinese furniture. The gallery shows a refined garden-like residence of that time. Even a simple chair demonstrates Chinese culture and etiquette. First of its kind, the Gallery of Chinese Seals, reflects the importance of seals in history from the Western Zhou to the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Shanghai has more than 72 museums, some of which are free of charge. The following are the best seven museums in Shanghai. The top three are free of charge, and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, with the most expensive entrance fee (60 yuan) is the best one for a family visit. 1. Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆) Entrance Fee: free Opening time: 9am–5pm (last entry 4pm) Exhibition area: 2,800 square meters Address: 201 Renmin Road, Shanghai (人民路201号) Telephone: 021-6372 3500 Transportation: take bus 46, 71, 112, 123, 145, 916, 925 or Tunnel Line 6 and get off at People’s Square Station (人民广场) Shanghai MuseumShanghai Museum Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese artifacts. It has more than 120,000 precious historical relics, including bronze ware, china ware, calligraphy works, paintings, jade articles, ancient coins, ancient furniture, and sculptures. The most precious two are an ancient cooking vessel with dragon pattern of the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046BC) (龙纹扁足鼎 Longwen Bianzu Ding 'Dragon-Pattern Flat-Foot Tripot') and an excessively free cursive style calligraphy work of The Red Cliff Ode (草书前后赤壁赋). 2. Shanghai Art Palace (中华艺术宫) Entrance fee: free Opening hours: 9am–5pm (last entry:4pm, closed on Monday) Exhibition area: about 64,000 square meters Address: 161 Shangnan Road, Pudong New District (浦东新区上南路161号) Transportation: Take subway line 8, and get off at Yaohua Road (耀华路). Shanghai Art Palace (also Shanghai Art Museum) has moved to Shanghai Expo China Pavilion from Nanjing West Road. This museum has more than 80,000 exhibits, mainly themed around Chinese modern art. The exhibitions include numerous art works of China’s modern artists (since the late 19th century), including Zhang Daqian, Ren Bonian, and Wu Changshuo. Some unique oil paintings, woodcuts, picture-story books, and Spring Festival paintings are also shown there. 3. Shanghai Natural History Museum (上海自然博物馆) Shanghai Natural History MuseumShanghai Natural History Museum Entrance fee: free Exhibition area: 5,700 square meters Opening hours: 9am–5pm (closed on Mondays) Address: 260 Yan’an East Road, Huangpu District (黄浦区延安东路260号) Telephone: 021-6321 3548 Transportation: Take subway line 2 to Yuyuan Garden (豫园), leave the station from Exit 3, and walk about 2 minutes to the museum. It is one of China’s largest museums of natural sciences, showing the history of ancient animals, human history, and the evolution of animals and plants, with specimens of animals and plants, mummies, fossils, models, unearthed historical relics, and ancient literature. Of 180 exhibitions of ancient animals, Mamenchisaurus (马门溪龙), one of the largest dinosaurs in the world, and the ancient elephant of the Yellow River are the most outstanding two. Five mummies, including the oldest mummy unearthed in Loulan (楼兰古尸, with a history of about 4,000 years), are exhibited to show the history of human development.

Given its much-vaunted 5,000 years of history, China's museums are, in general, a sorry lot. Exhibits are badly lighted, the English information often a jumble of incomprehensible nouns. (In truth, some of China's finest artwork was carted off by the departing Nationalists in 1949, when they quit the mainland for Taiwan. But that still doesn't excuse the pathetic state in which most of the country's national treasures are displayed.) The Shanghai Museum, located on People's Square, is a welcome antidote to all that's dark and dingy. You don't — and shouldn't — try to digest it all in one go. My suggestion: Pick one section, whether it's calligraphy or jades or ceramics, and dig in. Personally, I find the bronzes strangely fascinating; in fact, the shape of the museum itself mimics that of an ancient bronze cauldron. 1. Shanghai Museum 201 Renmin Avenue, Shanghai, China 200003; 86-(0)21-6372-3500 More Info