Shanghai Museum is situated at the southern side of the People's Square. Total construction space is 38,000 square meters. The museum structure, 29.5 meters in height, includes five floors aboveground 
and two floors underground. The design of the museum, a square foundation supporting a circular roof, incorporates ancient Chinese philosophy that the sky is round and the earth is square.
The museum has 10 showrooms featuring bronze wares, ceramics, ancient Chinese paintings, calligraphy works, sculptures, seals, coins, jade wares, furniture and handicrafts of Chinese minorities. The museum now collects some 120,000 pieces of precious antiques, accounting for almost half of the total such collections in the country. The museum is highly acclaimed internationally.
On the first floor are the Hall of Ancient Bronze Ware, Hall of Chinese Ancient Sculpture and a large exhibition hall; on the second floor are the Hall of Chinese Ancient Sculpture and a large exhibition hall; on the second floor are the Hall of Chinese Ancient Pottery and Porcelain and a large exhibition hall; on the third floor are the Hall of Chinese Calligraphy of Different Dynasties, Hall of Chinese Painting of different dynasties and Hall of Chinese Seals of different dynasties; on the fourth floor are the Hall of Chinese Ancient Jade Ware, Hall of Chinese Coins of different dynasties. Hall of Chinese Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hall of Arts and Crafts of Chinese Minority Nationalities and a large exhibition hall.
The 12 special topic halls displaying bronze ware, pottery and porcelain, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, coins, jade ware, furniture, seals, arts, give a full picture of the brilliant course of the 6,000 years’ Chinese ancient arts. The museum adopts an advanced system of management, guiding and enquiry to render convenience to visitors.
