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The Shanghai Museum East building in Pudong

No. 8 Top 100 Most Visited Art Museums 2025 · 4,593,216 visitors in 2025

Shanghai Museum East

Shanghai, China · City guide: Shanghai

The Shanghai Museum's huge new home in Pudong: ancient Chinese bronzes, jade, ceramics and painting, with free entry.

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Photo: Nat4Eben, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

Shanghai Museum East is No. 8 in The Art Newspaper's survey of the world's most visited art museums, with 4,593,216 visitors in 2025, up 8% on 2024. It is the new branch of the Shanghai Museum, one of China's leading museums of ancient Chinese art, whose original building on People's Square remains open. The Bronze Gallery opened in February 2024 and the whole museum on 3 December 2024.

The building on Century Avenue in Pudong has nearly 120,000 square metres of floor space and 13 permanent galleries. They cover ancient Chinese bronzes, sculpture, jade, seals, calligraphy, painting, ceramics and coins, as well as the archaeology of Shanghai and the culture of Jiangnan, the region south of the Yangtze.

Entrance to the Bronze Gallery at Shanghai Museum East
Entrance to the Bronze Gallery at Shanghai Museum East. Photo: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Best time to visit

The museum is closed on Tuesdays, except on public holidays. Weekday mornings are the quietest; avoid Chinese public holidays if you can.

Highlights & collections

  • 1

    Bronze Gallery

    Some 3,600 years of Chinese bronze art, from the Xia dynasty to the Qing.

  • 2

    Calligraphy and Painting Galleries

    Separate galleries tell the history of Chinese calligraphy and of Chinese painting, with masterpieces rarely shown in recent years.

  • 3

    Ceramics Gallery

    The story of Chinese ceramics, with a second gallery on China's ceramics trade with the world.

  • 4

    Jade Gallery

    Carved jade from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty.

  • 5

    Archaeology Gallery

    Some 2,000 finds trace 6,000 years of history in the Shanghai area.

Getting there

The museum is at 1952 Century Avenue in Pudong. Take Metro Line 2 to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum station (exit 8), or Line 6 to Pudian Road (exit 1). Individual visitors enter through the B1 East Gate near Dingxiang Road. Line 2 also runs to Pudong International Airport.

Visiting tips

Tickets & hours
Admission is free, and individual visitors do not need to book. Bring your passport, which is checked at entry. Some interactive spaces need advance booking. Check the official website for hours.
Time needed
Half a day for several galleries.
Currency
Chinese yuan (CNY). Mobile payment (Alipay or WeChat Pay, which can be linked to foreign cards) is used almost everywhere; carry some cash as a backup.
Safety
Shanghai is generally very safe. The police emergency number is 110.
Visa & entry
Citizens of many countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and most EU countries, can currently visit China visa-free for up to 30 days under a policy that runs until 31 December 2026. US citizens need a visa, or can use the 240-hour visa-free transit scheme with an onward ticket to a third country. Rules change often, so check with a Chinese embassy before you travel.

Official information: Shanghai Museum (official website). Check opening hours, prices and entry rules there before you go.

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