The Shanghai Museum of Natural History had, let’s face it, long been a bit of a laughing stock. Opened in 1956 in a lovely old colonial building behind the Bund, it would surely have been something special back in the day. Rarely (if ever) updated, the dusty corridors and bizarre exhibits (ragged looking mummies, animal specimens in formaldehyde) gave the impression of an eccentric professor’s laboratory: quirky and amusing, but hardly living up to Shanghai’s 21st century aspirations.
But now the museum has reopened and has been given more than just a makeover. This is a full scale reboot including a new location in Jing’an Sculpture Park. Serious amounts of time and money have been spent here, and with its dramatic new design, the museum hasn’t been short of attention: so many locals turned up on opening day in mid-April that ticketing had to be halted an hour in.
Bespoke braved the crowds to take a whistle-stop tour of the new facility. First impressions? The place is HUGE – you’re going to need to put aside a half day if you want to really do it justice. However there’s always the option of cherry-picking some of the highlights. As is par for the course with natural history museums, it’s the dinosaur section that brings out the big guns, and rightly so: China has some of the most significant collections of dinosaur fossils on earth. There are some fantastic reconstructions (including some pretty cool animatronics) here that kids will love. A special section dedicated to Shanghai and its environs provides further local context as well as some frank insights into the changes in the area’s ecology as the city sprawls ever further.
Shanghai’s recent spate of big budget new museums has attracted plenty of criticism of style over substance, but happily the Shanghai Museum of Natural History seems to be bucking this trend. Plenty of smiling, English-speaking volunteers were on hand, and signage, in English and Chinese throughout, was excellent. It’s even got a proper cafe and gift shop! While we’ll miss the quirks of its predecessor, there’s no denying that this is a major upgrade, and makes a great stop for those with curious kids. The Jing’an Sculpture Park where you can even (shock!) sit on the grass, is full of fun pieces and is nice for a post-visit picnic too.
Shanghai Museum of Natural History 399 Haiguan Lu (inside Jing’an Sculpture Park) and is open from 9am-5pm tuesday-Sunday. Visiting Shanghai with your family? Find out what else you can do!