Shanghai Museum — People’s Square 上海博物馆人民广场馆

About Shanghai Museum — People’s Square

Its current programme is devoted to the Ancient Americas exhibition, scheduled from July 2026 to November 2027.

The museum’s permanent Chinese collections and other special exhibitions are at the East branch in Pudong during this programme. That distinction is essential when choosing which museum to visit. At People’s Square, plan around the booked exhibition and the surrounding civic architecture; do not expect the former permanent bronze and ceramics galleries here.

The museum was founded in 1950 and opened to the public in December 1952, first in the former Shanghai Racecourse (上海跑马厅) and later in the Zhonghui Bank Building (中汇银行大厦) on Henan Road; its early holdings came largely from wartime seizures, customs-confiscated relics and private donations. Construction of the People's Square building began in 1993 under directors Ma Chengyuan (马承源) and Wang Qingzheng (汪庆正), and it opened on October 12, 1996; the five-story building stands 29.5 meters tall and covers a total area of 39,200 square meters, with an architectural form drawing on the traditional Chinese concept of a round sky and a square earth.

Of the museum's fourteen specialized galleries, twelve are now housed at the East branch, while the People's Square building holds two, the Chinese Ming and Qing Furniture Gallery (中国明清家居馆) and the Minority Nationalities Crafts Gallery (少数民族工艺馆), plus three further exhibition halls used for rotating loan displays of artifacts and artworks from other museums and collecting institutions.

The People's Square building's galleries began closing for rearrangement in September 2023, with the whole building closed from October 9; it reopened on December 10, 2023. From July 2024 to August 2025 the building hosted 'Pyramid Summit: A Grand Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization' (金字塔之巅：古埃及文明大展), described as the first direct collaboration between a Chinese state museum and the Egyptian government.

What to look for

• The Ancient Americas exhibition is the branch’s announced exhibition focus during the stated programme.
• The museum building forms part of the People’s Square civic and cultural setting.

Location & getting there

Getting to Shanghai Museum — People’s Square

Go to 201 Renmin Avenue and enter from the south gate on Wusheng Road. The official visitor page lists People’s Square and Dashijie metro stations as approaches; check the booked branch before travelling.