China Maritime Museum

The China Maritime Museum (中国航海博物馆, Zhōngguó Hánghǎi Bówùguǎn) at 197 Shengang Avenue is a large museum of ships, seafaring and ports on the shore of Dishui Lake. It opened on 5 July 2010. Go if the sea and shipping interest you, and be ready for a long trip: it is in Lingang, in the far southeast of Pudong.

How far out it is. The nearest metro stop is Dishui Lake (滴水湖), the southern end of Line 16. English Wikipedia says the museum is about a 20-minute walk from the station; Chinese Wikipedia suggests changing to bus 1096. Line 16 itself is 58.96 kilometres long. An express that stops only at the two ends takes about 34 minutes between them, and the ordinary service about 55 minutes, according to English Wikipedia. Those are end-to-end times for the line, not door-to-door from the centre, so allow plenty of time. The Shanghai Astronomy Museum (上海天文馆) is also in Lingang, so the two can share one trip.

The building. Construction ran from January 2006 to September 2009. The site covers 24,830 square metres and the building has 46,434 square metres of floor area, of which 21,000 square metres indoors and 6,000 outdoors are for exhibitions. English Wikipedia says the top is shaped like a huge white sail blown by the wind; Chinese Wikipedia calls it the White Sail (白帆) and says it looks from afar like a magnolia.

What is inside. There are six main halls: Maritime History, Ships, Seamen, Navigation and Ports, Maritime Safety, and Military Navigation. Chinese Wikipedia adds sections on fishing boats and sailing sport, a planetarium, a 4D cinema and a children’s activity centre. It reports more than 20,000 objects, about 50,000 sea charts and about 20,000 books and documents. The best-known piece is a full-size replica of a Ming-dynasty Fujian-type ship (福船), 31.3 metres long and 8.8 metres wide, with a main mast of 27 metres.

Practical. No official page was reached when this entry was written. Chinese Wikipedia gives 9:30 to 16:00, closed on Mondays except holidays; a ticket site lists Tuesday to Sunday with the same hours. Treat these as unconfirmed and check the museum’s official channels before travelling.