The Shanghai Museum is a gem in the tiara of Chinese history museums. The museum was set up in the old club house of a horse track and opened to the public in 1952. In 1959 it was moved to Henan Road, then in 1992 it was moved again to a new building in the People’s Square. The museum building is round with a square base, a representation of the old Chinese belief that the earth is square and the heavens round. 

The Museum has eleven galleries and two massive halls. Some of the artifacts there are centuries old, but they’ve been preserved with care. The ancient bronze gallery houses over 400 different kinds of sculptures. Many students and professors have used these artifacts to build their theories about ancient societies.  The ceramics gallery is one of the most prominent in China and contains pieces from many different eras. The sculpture gallery, dominated by Buddhist sculpture, is extensive. The pieces on display in the furniture gallery are mostly from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The jade gallery houses a number of valuable and significant artifacts. The coin gallery has over seven thousand displays of China’s ancient currencies, some of the oldest currencies in the world.

This brief description hardly begins to do the museum justice. It’s worth not just a visit, but many. Those who don’t read Chinese need not worry, the exhibits are also in English.

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