Tung Chee-hwa Shipping Museum

Tung Chee-hwa Shipping Museum

The Tung Chee-hwa Shipping Museum is located in the northeast corner of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Xujiahui. It was jointly established by the Hong Kong Tung Foundation and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and is housed in the Xinzhong Building on the university’s Xuhui campus. The museum opened on January 18, 2003.

This is a two-story building that combines Chinese and Western styles, characterized by its simple and elegant design. Originally constructed in the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910), it initially served as a male dormitory. The structure features a British colonial architectural style, with corridors running around the perimeter and a central courtyard modeled after traditional Chinese residential architecture. The high and spacious courtyard naturally forms an open shared space. To transform the site into a shipping museum without compromising the building’s historic charm, Hong Kong architect Chan Ping-wah invested significant effort. Entering through a vermilion wooden door, visitors find gray vertical brick walls accented with orange hues, while bluestone tiles in the inner courtyard are adorned with ropes and stone posts, mimicking the design of a ship’s deck. The designer creatively added a glass roof over the courtyard, allowing streams of sunlight to flood the atrium, creating a serene and warm atmosphere.

The exhibition is divided into two parts. The first floor’s China Maritime History Gallery showcases the history of ships and maritime trade in ancient China from the Neolithic period onward, featuring a wealth of photographs, documents, physical models, and navigational artifacts. Zheng He’s seven voyages to the Western Seas is a major highlight, with exhibits including a restored illustration of Zheng He’s expeditions from the preface of the *Tianfei Jing* (The Heavenly Queen Scripture) and the later-published *Zheng He Navigation Chart*, both of which hold significant reference and research value. The rise of Shanghai’s sand ships is another extensively covered theme.

The Tung Chee-hwa Exhibition Room is located on the second floor. The displays include vivid photographs, charts, documents, ship models, ceremony booklets from ship launchings, silver axes, commemorative medals, tableware used aboard ships, exhibited artworks, and various other artifacts, along with lifelike dioramas that encapsulate the legendary life of Tung Chee-hwa—one of the “Seven Sea Kings” of the world.

The refined yet unpretentious Tung Chee-hwa Shipping Museum is one of the top ten university museums in China. Its unique architectural design earned it the Overseas Works Award from the Hong Kong Institute of Architects in 2003.

Address: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

Type: Museum

Recommended visiting time: About 1 hour

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Sunday, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM; closed on Mondays.

Ticket information:

Free admission.

Tung Chee-hwa (1912–1982), also known as Zhao Rong, was a native of Chenghai Chengguan. He was the father of former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tung Chee-hwa. In his early years, he attended Dinghai Middle School. In 1928, during the Republic of China era, he enrolled in a shipping training program at the Jincheng Bank. After graduation, he was assigned to the Tianjin Shipping Company under the Jincheng Group, later serving as the manager of the Transport Department at Tianjin Tongcheng Company and the manager of the Shipping Department at Jincheng Bank. During this time, he was elected as an executive director and vice president of the Tianjin Shipowners Association. In 1936, he founded the China Shipping Trust Company in Shanghai. In 1946, he established the China Shipping Corporation in Shanghai... More details about Tung Chee-hwa ++