Shanghai Museum is to the south of the People's Square in the downtown area. The construction area of the museum is about 40,000 square meters. Together with the museums in Beijing, Xian, Nanjing, the four are honored as the China's four major museums.

The Shanghai Museum building has a circular upper storey but square ground floor, symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land. The museum style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy.

The design is also in keeping with Feng Shui principles and this perfectly symmetrical building is said to resemble a large Chinese cooking pot with two handles protruding from either side. In the evenings, smoke bellows out of the vents in the building, making the museum literally appear to be simmering away in the center of the city.

Seen from a distance, the entire structure is just like an ancient Chinese bronze, providing you with a very different impression of the building. What makes Shanghai Museum different from others in the world is that it integrates traditional culture and spirit into the whole construction in an exquisite way.

The museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities.

Shanghai Museum has been famous for its large collection of rare cultural piece. The museum now houses over 120,000 pieces of cultural relics in twelve categories, including Chinese bronze, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, and artifacts. The most distinctive collections is bonzes pieces, the 1,200 square meter exhibition room has displayed more than 400 beautifully decorated brazen, which deliver a panoramic picture of China from 18th century BC to the 3rd century BC. The items exhibited include the bronze wine vessel, food vessel, musical instrument, water vessel, weapon and some other vessels from the Xia Dynasty (ca, 21st century B.C.) to the Warring States Period (221 B.C.)

As a Chinese saying goes, it is better to see for oneself than to hear many times. Shanghai Museum welcomes visitors to see and enjoy Chinese culture.