Shanghai Natural History Museum (Jing'an)
Shanghai Natural History Museum (Jing'an)
4.5
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Jing'an
The heart of this neighborhood is the Jing'an Temple, while the main artery of excitement and entertainment is West Nanjing Road. Large, flashy malls, luxe residential high-rises and trendy nightlife areas can be found along West Nanjing Road, but areas off the busy street have quiet cafes and independent boutiques.
How to get there
- Xinzha Road • 8 min walk
- West Nanjing Road • 9 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
402 reviews
Excellent
225
Very good
132
Average
36
Poor
5
Terrible
4
Kristine K
135 contributions
Dec 2019
Very large museum. Almost overwhelming. Well laid out. Spacious. Very clean and well maintained. Plenty of restrooms and areas to sit down & rest. Easily accessible location. Something for everyone. We spent about 4 hours here & did not see everything. If possible, we recommend going on a week day as holidays & weekends can be a little busy. Worth your time even if you only go thru a few sections. Younger children maybe bored. The outside area around the building lovely space to sit and have a snack or to people watch. There are lockers available at the front door for temporary storage.
Written October 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jenn S
California63 contributions
Nov 2020 • Family
Very spacious, affordable at just 30rmb for adults and kids under 1.3m free. Many dinosaurs in skeleton and animatronic form, many taxidermied animals of the past, a good collection of minerals and rocks, and ecology of shanghai. It was empty on a Friday morning. The sculpture garden outside is a big plus for little kids. Only negative is I think most of the items except the rocks are replicas, including the stuffed animals but maybe it's not bad since those animals are endangered or extinct. We did have to buy our tickets on wechat, show health code and passports to enter as foreigners.
Written November 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane
Cali, Colombia18 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
I wasn’t expecting that much, but this place is full of so many interesting things to see, that after some time I was already tired of walking. It’s incredible, I really liked it! The ticket was only 30rmb, which I was very surprised about it.
I just wish people were not that loud, so the visit could have been more pleasant.
I just wish people were not that loud, so the visit could have been more pleasant.
Written October 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quentin P
Singapore, Singapore32 contributions
Dec 2019
Really big museum with lots to see. We expected to spend about 2 or 3 hours here based on the other reviews we read but ended up spending close to 5, and we weren't even able to finish seeing everything. Crowd didn't seem bad in December when we visited.
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eric Carter Hah
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2,513 contributions
Jan 2020
Yes I am a nerd when it comes to natural history! I spent about 5 hours at this amazing museum!
Being here makes me feel like I’m a kid running wild in a candy store that has toys and filled with all you can eat chocolates! And during our trip here, the museum had also unveiled a new exhibit. The polar bear. An amazing specimen. I was soo amazed and focus and I totally did not get a lot of shots. Will I come back again, YES!
Being here makes me feel like I’m a kid running wild in a candy store that has toys and filled with all you can eat chocolates! And during our trip here, the museum had also unveiled a new exhibit. The polar bear. An amazing specimen. I was soo amazed and focus and I totally did not get a lot of shots. Will I come back again, YES!
Written July 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,623 contributions
Oct 2019 • Business
The Earth today has become a unique landscape of the universe with its colorful life forms, entering the colorful natural museum. The museum takes us through evolution and displays the variety of life.
Written October 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jo-Ann
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia17,192 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
Four floors of beautifully arranged creativity and loads of information. There are cafes and souvenir shops too. Its park outside is gigantic and very well maintained. A lovely visit indeed.
Written October 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rachel7310
Devonport, Australia191 contributions
Apr 2015 • Family
We went to the museum, 4 days after it reopen at the Jing'an Sculpture park. This building is state of the art and from previous reviews it has done a fantastic job in reinventing self.
Some of the exhibits were fantastic but some let down the side such as the marine animal hung from the ceiling, alot looking great but the sharks underbelly looks like a bad paper mache job. Alot of stuffed animal etc also had brown tags with its exhibit number on it making it look not lifelike but what it was ...a stuffed animal.
The kids loved it, we saw all the animals, the dinosaurs look great with them moving and roaring. The 4d film is currently not in place yet but we saw enough in around 2hours. Get there early if you want to see lots without the crowds.
Alot is written in English as well as Chinese. Its easy to get to via Metro and walk around 10mins.
I took a 12yo and 9yo boy, they both loved it, there is enough there to keep them entertained.
Some of the exhibits were fantastic but some let down the side such as the marine animal hung from the ceiling, alot looking great but the sharks underbelly looks like a bad paper mache job. Alot of stuffed animal etc also had brown tags with its exhibit number on it making it look not lifelike but what it was ...a stuffed animal.
The kids loved it, we saw all the animals, the dinosaurs look great with them moving and roaring. The 4d film is currently not in place yet but we saw enough in around 2hours. Get there early if you want to see lots without the crowds.
Alot is written in English as well as Chinese. Its easy to get to via Metro and walk around 10mins.
I took a 12yo and 9yo boy, they both loved it, there is enough there to keep them entertained.
Written April 30, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rayean88
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia117 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
One of the best Natural History Museums I've been to! Better than the London one with beautiful open displays on each floor. We only had 2 1/2 hours in there (we arrived about 2.30pm) and it definitely wasn't enough to fully explore the whole museum. Everything was so well organized, no crowds to fight with, free lockers to use, clean toilets, interesting gift shop. Definitely better than our expectations and entrance tickets were so reasonably priced! Don't hesitate to go!
Written January 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Denis H
Kyiv, Ukraine11 contributions
Nov 2017 • Friends
I visited in November 2017. The place has a great number of halls dedicated to different time periods as well as different species.
Many school kids and students around, working on their projects, which adds to the feeling of significance of this place.
The museum is organized in such a way, that you inevitably start your tour in a hall dedicated to explaining the origins of our Universe (including info on Astronomy and telescope tech development through the years) and life as such (or at least what we know of these two things). You move step by step from the very general basics which allows you to follow the sequence of life development on Earth from microorganisms -> to first sea creatures -> to first land creatures and on -> to, physiologically speaking, the Paragons of Animals - humans. And no blank spots in the process which is especially nice.
Countless exhibits of anything you could find on, beneath and above the ground or water, both existing and extinct. In addition there are a few halls telling of special survival habits of different species which is exceptionally interesting.
I would advise to rent the multi-language pocket guide as it has some additional info which, in some cases, is not present in written form near certain exhibits.
And a nice park around the museum building to wrap up the experience.
You can be done in an hour+ if you sprint through the halls, but you can also stick around for more than a half a day if you're an admirer.
In my case there were no queues, probably because I visited on a working day. However, the entrance arrangement hints that long queues do take place, so consider this possibility but don't change your mind because of it.
- Price pays off fully. Bites a bit for an average Ukrainian, but hey, if you got as far as Shanghai, you're probably ok with it. ;)
- Staff is friendly.
- Restrooms and other conveniences are good.
- Gift shop has a wide variety of stuff but I usually miss out on these places, so can't really say if it's worth it.
Many school kids and students around, working on their projects, which adds to the feeling of significance of this place.
The museum is organized in such a way, that you inevitably start your tour in a hall dedicated to explaining the origins of our Universe (including info on Astronomy and telescope tech development through the years) and life as such (or at least what we know of these two things). You move step by step from the very general basics which allows you to follow the sequence of life development on Earth from microorganisms -> to first sea creatures -> to first land creatures and on -> to, physiologically speaking, the Paragons of Animals - humans. And no blank spots in the process which is especially nice.
Countless exhibits of anything you could find on, beneath and above the ground or water, both existing and extinct. In addition there are a few halls telling of special survival habits of different species which is exceptionally interesting.
I would advise to rent the multi-language pocket guide as it has some additional info which, in some cases, is not present in written form near certain exhibits.
And a nice park around the museum building to wrap up the experience.
You can be done in an hour+ if you sprint through the halls, but you can also stick around for more than a half a day if you're an admirer.
In my case there were no queues, probably because I visited on a working day. However, the entrance arrangement hints that long queues do take place, so consider this possibility but don't change your mind because of it.
- Price pays off fully. Bites a bit for an average Ukrainian, but hey, if you got as far as Shanghai, you're probably ok with it. ;)
- Staff is friendly.
- Restrooms and other conveniences are good.
- Gift shop has a wide variety of stuff but I usually miss out on these places, so can't really say if it's worth it.
Written March 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How do you purchase tickets as I do not have a local Chinese number?
Written March 9, 2024
How much does it cost for a child that is 12 years old?
Written November 23, 2017
In most places, the entry cutoff is not by age but by height. 130 / 140 cms.
Written May 10, 2018
How much does it cost for a child that is 12 years old?
Written November 23, 2017
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