The Shanghai Natural History Museum is located in Jing’an Sculpture Park, with a unique appearance resembling a ‘green spiral’. The new museum houses tens of thousands of specimens, with a particularly eye-catching skeleton of a Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, approximately 26 meters in length. The museum has five floors in total, with two above ground and three underground. Visitors typically start their tour from the second floor and proceed downwards, which takes about half a day to a full day. Please allocate your energy accordingly, as the second underground floor offers a rich exhibition.
There are 10 permanent exhibitions within the museum, categorized into three systems: natural evolution, life environment, and human civilization. The ‘Origins of the Mystery’ exhibition on the second floor, with the journey of human exploration of the universe as its main thread, displays models of astronomical telescopes from ancient times to the present, along with images and texts about astronomy. In one corner of the exhibition hall, a 3D movie about meteorites can be watched.
The ‘River of Life’ exhibition on the first floor classifies and displays a large number of animal specimens such as snakes, monkeys, and peacocks. The massive Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum model roars and twists its neck, appearing incredibly lifelike. Through the natural experience area, visitors can observe live butterflies, chameleons, jellyfish, and other animals up close through transparent display boxes; at the sea water touch pool, you can even touch starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea anemones with your own hands, which is a rare experience.
The ‘Path of Evolution’ (first underground floor) presents a variety of animal skeletons and fossils, showing the entire trajectory from the Cambrian explosion of life to the emergence of humans. Here, you can see a multitude of dinosaur fossils, and by using the museum’s official ‘Augmented Reality’ APP, you can point it at the skeleton of Lufengosaurus and see two 3D Lufengosaurus running towards you on the screen, as if they want to jump out of the screen to greet you, which is very cute. Dinosaur enthusiasts must not miss this.
The second underground floor is one of the richest in content, containing five themes including survival wisdom, earth exploration, and colorful life. If you carefully visit this floor, it will require a considerable amount of time and energy, so it is recommended to focus on the exciting parts. The ‘Ecological Wonders’ area uses animal specimens and model props to reproduce the ecological scene of the African savannah on a 1:1 scale: on the vast African savannah, giraffes and hippos are strolling, gazelles are fleeing from predators, and a group of lions are enjoying the sunbath, giving a feeling of watching ‘Animal World’; in the ‘Colorful Life’ exhibition area, the ‘Butterfly Wing Painting’ made from 1200 butterfly wings is always a must-take photo spot for visitors; the Exploration Center is popular among children, where they can experience the sense of achievement from digging up fossils themselves, and families traveling together should not miss it (advance booking on site is required).
After the visit, you might as well go to the souvenir shop to find some small peripheral items as souvenirs. Dolls of arctic foxes, mugs with elephant head handles, amber wrapped with complete insects, etc. are very cute in shape. Most of these dolls cost more than 100 yuan. Although the price is a bit expensive, they are worth the money. There is a restaurant on the right side of the Mystery of Origins on the second floor, and a small cafe on the basement second floor.
If you are tired from strolling, go and have something to eat. The catering prices are relatively moderate. Opening hours: Open from Tuesday to Sunday all year round from 09:00 to 17:00; closed all day on Monday all year round; open from 09:00 to 17:00 on New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. Preferential policies: Children: Those who are 1.3 meters (inclusive) or under or under 6 years old (inclusive) are free. The elderly: Those aged 70 years old (inclusive) or above can enter for free with their senior citizen card or ID card. Age group: Those aged 60 to 69 years old are eligible for discounted tickets. Others: Disabled people, retired cadres, families of martyrs, and national comprehensive fire and rescue personnel are free. Students: Children over 1.3 meters, full-time undergraduates and students with educational backgrounds below undergraduate level (need to show their student ID cards when entering and checking tickets) are eligible for discounted tickets. Military personnel: Active-duty military personnel need to show their certificates and enter for free. Newly added free admission groups: Surviving family members of military personnel who died on duty and surviving family members of military personnel who died of illness; on-duty, retired, and disabled fire and rescue personnel (including full-time government firefighters) and students of fire and rescue colleges and universities can enter after checking tickets and verifying with valid certificates for free. Newly added preferential groups: Family members of active-duty military personnel (including spouses, minor children, adult children who cannot live independently, and parents (dependents) of active-duty military personnel) are entitled to ticket discounts. Relevant identification must be brought for ticket checking and verification when entering. Discounted. Supplementary note: The above preferential policies are subject to the specific announcements of the scenic spot. The above-mentioned people need to show valid certificates when entering the museum. Service facilities: Luggage storage: Large luggage can be stored. Stroller rental: Reference price: free. Wheelchair rental: Reference price: free.
