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Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan)

Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan): Hours, Address, Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan) Reviews: 4.5/5

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Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan)

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Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan)
4.5
4,847
#15 of 1,367 things to do in Shanghai
Speciality Museums
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9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
This elegant museum, opened in 1996, features eleven state-of-the-art galleries housing China’s international-standard exhibits of bronzes, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jade and Ming and Qing dynasty furniture.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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The area
Neighborhood: People’s Square
People’s Square brings with it all the excitement you would expect from the town square of one of the biggest cities in the world. The area around People’s Square and People’s Park is always a abuzz with activity. Oceans of local and foreign tourists flow in and out of the area every day to see grand museums, go shopping and eat at some of Shanghai’s most storied food centers. Shanghai residents, meanwhile, live and work in the many residential and office high-rises. While much of Shanghai stays busy late into the night, this really is an area that never sleeps with glitzy nightclubs keeping people up until the wee hours of the morning.
How to get there
  • Dashijie • 5 min walk
  • People's Square • 7 min walk
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
4,847 reviews
Excellent
2,640
Very good
1,621
Average
482
Poor
77
Terrible
27
Sjakie S
Hoorn, The Netherlands652 contributions
It's free and it kicks ass
Couples
The museum has free entrance, and if you know what's inside! But you have to wait in the queue for 1 hour. The audio guide is well worth the price. I think you can spend a whole day here.
Written May 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Indiajudd
Shanghai, China41 contributions
Check-ered experience
its difficult to gain access with queues, checks, passport control etc and once inside 50% of galleries, shop are closed. You need to reserve a timeslot in advance - then entrance is free. Had i known all this, i would not have bothered. Anyway the open exhibitions are good with a modest amount of English explanation. Expect to be eyed up by officious guards throughout
Written September 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Kyle Ciulla
Beijing, China288 contributions
Great learning opportunity
Really great exhibits and antiquities. I really enjoyed the currency floor, and jade section. the calligraphy section was under renovation, but im sure it would have been amazing! lots of different sections of the museum, so you are not looking at the same things the whole time. Also it has English on the walls, so you can actually learn what you are looking at. Make sure to book tickets in advance!
Written May 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jenn S
Los Altos, CA55 contributions
Amazing museum
Family
This is a museum focused on ancient Chinese history and art. It's fantastic. It is also free (which is great) but means it also gets very crowded fast. Tickets have to be reserved on wechat by time, entrance is on the north side, plenty of tickets Saturday morning but inside it already felt very crowded to me. We had young children who only wanted to see the jade and bronze weapons, and the shipwreck exhibit but next time will be back to see more!
Written November 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Daniel C
Middlesbrough, UK163 contributions
History of Shanghai
Even though Shanghai is a young city by Chinese standards, this museum is still filled with history. You'll find traditional items such as carriages that were used to carry brides to their weddings, you'll see China's involvement in WW2 and how the city went from a seaside town to the largest city in the country. You can also go to the roof and enjoy the sunshine while getting a nice view of the surrounding area. A fun historical fact is that in 1975 the city opened its first 24 hour convenience store, and now it has huge shopping malls filling the streets.You can learn a lot about the cities young history and see some great artefacts, a great way to spend a few hours when visiting the city.
Written October 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Kaja Ż
Beijing, China19 contributions
tickets sold out
Couples
we arrived in Shanghai on Friday and tickets were already sold out until Sunday. The tickets have to be purchased online.
Written August 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
LoveTravelling1116
Singapore, Singapore660 contributions
Quintessential Chinese museum
One can never visit Shanghai without visiting the iconic Shanghai Museum. If one were to do so, it’s like a man missing the opportunity to get culturally educated and inspired. After all, Shanghai Museum is entirely free, and it is one of the best curated museums in Shanghai.

As it was their local school holiday on the date of our visit, the entrance was extremely crowded with long queues of visitors (probably up to at least 100 plus?) in the late morning at 11am. It could be the tight security screening at the entrance that hindered the queue from shortening quickly. We spent at least half an hour to queue in order to enter the museum.

Inside the museum, there were different levels catering to different types of artifacts and history to be shared. On my date of visit, there were permanent exhibitions of porcelain vase, ancient seals and jades of different sizes and shapes, scrolls, classical Chinese furniture, figurine etc. One can never spend enough time photographing the entire museum with a hectic travel schedule ahead, but only to capture the best and most enticing piece.

I’m extremely delighted to find pockets of souvenir stalls selling cute and pretty souvenirs at every corner and level of the museums. They even have the main stall at the ground floor, with a huge variety of souvenirs to satisfy the appetite of patrons. I personally bought some boxes of magnets with beautiful design as memoir.

As the restaurants were too bloated with constant streams of customers and no space for seating, we did not dine at the restaurants. Moreover, we doubted there would be vegetarian dishes. Hence, we skipped that totally, and left the museum extremely hungry after standing for considerably long hours.

All in all, the cultural exposure which I had gained while admiring aesthetically appealing artefacts with interesting history was a rewarding payoff for the time spent queuing. The range of artefacts are generally impressive, showcasing its unique genre of collection of specific interests with an exclusive Chinese culture, and one of its own kind in China history.
Written July 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Eat love travel & repeat
Dubai, United Arab Emirates19 contributions
Great experience!
Family
This place is Totally worth it, entrance is located on Yaanan RD .... oh btw in SH always wear comfy sneakers !!
Written June 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Dean Swanepoel
39 contributions
Shanghai Museum Visit
A step back in History, what an amazing experience to be able to enjoy a culture with a fascinating legacy of ceramics and art
Written May 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Anabeesbee
Shanghai, China28 contributions
Do not expect much
Not bad to give a general overview, however there are better curated exhibits that can provide a history of the city. If you want to kill time, you can walk through this briefly for an hour.
Written May 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan)
Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan) is open:
  • Tue - Sun 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan) tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 199 Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan) tours on Tripadvisor