Shanghai Natural History Museum Museum

Address: Shanghai Natural History Museum - new building (central Shanghai)

Website: http://www.snhm.org.cn/ (check for English pages)

Hours: Typically Tue-Sun 9:00am-5:00pm, closed Mondays (confirm before visiting)

Admission: Admission charged (varies) - check official site for current ticket prices

Shanghai Natural History Museum is a major natural history museum in the city of Shanghai, originally founded in 1956. The institution moved into a new purpose-built building that opened to the public in 2015, substantially increasing exhibition and collection space.

The museum’s permanent displays cover paleontology, zoology, botany and mineralogy across multiple floors, with dedicated fossil galleries and biodiversity halls that explain evolution, ecosystems and species diversity. Exhibits are arranged to show comparative anatomy, fossil sequences and representative specimens from regional and global collections.

Established as a municipal natural history collection in 1956, the museum evolved through decades of collecting and research and relocated to a modern facility in 2015 to improve public access and accommodate large specimens. The newer building was designed to support expanded exhibitions, education and research functions.

The museum is located in the urban area of Shanghai and serves as one of the city’s principal museums of natural history, accessible from central districts by public transport.

• Founding and relocation: Founded in 1956 as a municipal natural history collection and moved into a purpose-built public building that opened in 2015, which expanded space for large specimens and public programming.

What to See#

• Fossil galleries: Dedicated gallery spaces for fossils and paleontology that display vertebrate fossils and interpretive material on evolution and earth history.
• Biodiversity halls: Biodiversity and zoology halls presenting taxidermy specimens, comparative anatomy displays and exhibits on regional and global ecosystems.

Located in central Shanghai. Use Metro Line 1/2/8 depending on the exact site entrance; the museum is accessible by multiple bus routes. The building is walkable from People’s Square depending on which entrance is used.

• Allow at least two hours for the main exhibits - the collections are extensive and well-presented.
• The museum's new building (opened in 2015) has thoughtful layout; start on the ground floor and work up through the geological and biological displays.
• Weekend mornings can be busy with family groups; late afternoons are quieter.