Tourism GuideShanghai Natural History Museum
A world-class natural history museum famous for its dinosaur skeletons and dramatic spiral 'green snail' architecture.
Key Information
Opened
2015 (new building)
Collection
About 290,000 specimens
Closed
Tuesdays, except public holidays
Ticket Notes
adults ¥30, students ¥12; advance online reservation required
About Shanghai Natural History Museum
The new Shanghai Natural History Museum opened in 2015 inside Jing'an Sculpture Park. Its collection of about 290,000 specimens covers paleontology, zoology, botany, and anthropology, with highlights including a 26-meter-long Mamenchisaurus skeleton and a complete Yellow River elephant fossil. The spiral building, nicknamed the 'green snail', is an architectural landmark in itself. The museum closes on Tuesdays rather than Mondays.
Things to Do
- Marvel at the 26-meter Mamenchisaurus skeleton in the main hall
- See the complete Yellow River elephant fossil
- Walk through the galleries on paleontology
- evolution
- and biodiversity
- Photograph the spiral 'green snail' facade of the building
- Explore special exhibitions on birds
- marine life
- and human origins