Shanghai Museum East Opens in Full in Pudong

Shanghai Museum East opened fully to the public on 3 December 2024. The new building, at 1952 Century Avenue in Pudong, had been opening in stages since February 2024. It gives the Shanghai Museum, one of China’s leading museums of ancient art, a second home with a total floor area of 113,200 square metres, against about 39,300 square metres for its building on People’s Square, according to the figures published by the Shanghai government.

A year of openings

The first galleries to open, on 2 February 2024, were the Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery and the Gallery for Ancient Chinese Sculpture, together with special exhibitions on the Sanxingdui and Jinsha civilisations. By the end of the first phase, in May, the museum had received about 1.05 million visitors. A second phase added galleries for ceramics, jade, seals and coins, and two themed galleries, one on the history of Shanghai and one on ceramics and international exchange. The building was reported complete in November, and the full opening was announced on 3 December 2024.

The galleries

The building holds about 20 galleries, including permanent galleries of ancient Chinese art that cover bronzes, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, seals, coins and jade, as well as interactive spaces. The exhibition area is reported as about 33,600 square metres. The bronzes, for which the museum is best known, are shown in the Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery.

The building

The museum stands north of Century Avenue, near the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, on a site of about 46,000 square metres. It has six storeys above ground and two below. The designers’ credit is not given here because it could not be confirmed.

For travellers

The museum on People’s Square, in the centre of the old city, remains open, so the collection is divided between the two sites, and visitors with one day should decide what they most want to see and check where it is shown. The East building is reached by Metro lines 2, 4 and 6. Entry may be by advance reservation at busy times, and opening days (reports say the East building closes on Tuesdays) should be confirmed before a visit.

Pudong is the district of the towers. The museum is a short ride from the riverside hotels of Lujiazui and from the Bund on the other bank, where The Peninsula Shanghai stands. For the rest of the city, see Shanghai and our gastronomic guide. Half an hour away by train, the gardens of Suzhou and the museum there by I. M. Pei make a natural second day.