Qingpu Museum

Qingpu Museum

Qingpu Museum is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a science education base, and a patriotic education base.

Qingpu Museum has a history of 50 years since its establishment. In the early years after liberation, cultural relics and museum affairs in Qingpu County were managed by the Qingpu County Cultural Center. On October 1, 1958, Qingpu County Museum was officially established and opened to the public. Since then, the county had a dedicated institution for cultural relics and museums. In early 1959, with the support of the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee, an exhibition of Qingpu County’s revolutionary historical relics was held as the historical section of the museum. In 1960, under the guidance of the Shanghai Natural History Museum, a nature section was launched, displaying various models and specimens of Qingpu County’s natural environment, geography, and products. In 1960, Qingpu County Museum was recognized as an advanced collective on the cultural and educational front in Shanghai.

After its establishment, the museum also took on the responsibilities of surveying, protecting, and exhibiting the county’s cultural relics and historic sites. Multiple surveys of these sites were conducted across the county. Between 1959 and 1961, the Qingpu County People's Government announced three batches totaling 32 cultural relics protection units. From 1960 to 1961, Qingpu, in collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee, conducted the first excavation of the Songze Ancient Cultural Site, unearthing a large number of relics that were of great significance and value for studying and exploring the primitive culture of the Taihu Lake region and the origins of prehistoric human civilization in the Shanghai area. By 2004, a total of 54 cultural relics and historic sites had been designated as protected units at various levels, among which the Fuquan Mountain Site was named a national-level cultural relics protection unit, eight others were municipal-level protected units, and 45 were district-level protected units.

After the reform and opening-up, Qingpu County Museum became an independent institution in November 1978 and resumed normal operations. In 1980, it moved to the former site of the Qingpu County Chenghuang Temple to operate. In 1982, in collaboration with the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee, archaeological excavations were carried out at the Fushan Mountain Ancient Cultural Site in Zhonggu, yielding significant results. A large number of Neolithic Age Songze and Liangzhu culture relics, as well as tombs from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, were discovered, along with many exquisite artifacts that are of great archaeological value and provided rich and detailed materials for the study of Shanghai’s history. In 1984, Comrade Chen Yun personally inscribed the name of Qingpu County Museum. On January 21, 1985, Qingpu County Museum grandly held the plaque unveiling ceremony and simultaneously organized an exhibition of relics unearthed from Fushan Mountain. In 1986, the county museum demolished the original exhibition hall and the dilapidated buildings in the rear courtyard of the Chenghuang Temple, constructing a new two-story antique-style building with an exhibition area of over 1,000 square meters. The renovated museum now houses nearly 10,000 cultural relics. In addition to displaying typical relics from the Songze and Fushan Mountain ancient cultural sites, the museum also features exhibits introducing the ancient Qinglong Town, the establishment of Qingpu County, the Qingpu Missionary Case, the Zhou Lichun Uprising, and other local historical displays, as well as profiles of notable figures from Qingpu’s history such as Ren Renfa, Dao Guansheng, Wang Qi, Wang Chang, He Shutian, and Xia Ruifang. The display of Qingpu’s ancient culture is particularly distinctive and has had a positive impact in the national museum community.

While focusing on the protection of cultural relics, Qingpu County Museum also made use of relics and local historical resources to organize various thematic small exhibitions, such as "Beloved Hometown," "The Anti-Japanese Struggle History of Qingpu People," "The History of Qingpu Youth Movement," "Biographies of Revolutionary Martyrs," "Hong Kong’s Return Exhibition," "Macao’s Return Exhibition," and "Qingpu’s Glorious Fifty Years." These exhibitions promoted patriotism and socialism. In 1990, Qingpu County Museum was named a "Youth Education Base" and a "Patriotic Education Base." Since its opening, it has received over a million visitors from China and abroad.

Qingpu Museum emphasizes the construction of spiritual civilization and has established a good image among local cultural institutions over the years. In 1995, it was named an "Advanced Collective in Qingpu County" by the Qingpu County Government. From 1995 to 1997, it was rated as a "Civilized Window Unit" for three consecutive years by the Shanghai Spiritual Civilization Construction Committee. From 1997–1998, 1999–2000, and 2001–2002, it was recognized as an "Advanced Unit of the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Shanghai Agricultural System" by the Shanghai Rural Work Committee and the Shanghai Agriculture Committee. In 1998 and 1999, it was named a "Five-Good Party Branch in Qingpu County" for two consecutive years by the CPC Qingpu County Committee. In 2003, it received the "Shanghai Cultural Relics Collection Management Award" from the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee. In the same year, during the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee’s knowledge competition on the "Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics" themed "Protecting Cultural Heritage, Building Urban Spirit," Qingpu Museum won the championship award. Over the years, Qingpu Museum has been rated as a "Hygiene Exempt Unit" by the Qingpu Patriotic Health Committee.

As a window for showcasing local history and culture, Qingpu Museum holds an extremely important position in the cultural development of Qingpu. Although the old museum had a rich collection and had been open to the public for many years, with the arrival of the new century and the rapid development and changes in Shanghai, the old museum’s small exhibition space, poor storage conditions, and outdated security facilities had fallen behind the times. It could no longer meet the needs for the safe storage and full display of cultural relics, nor could it satisfy the public’s demand for a modern, elegant, dignified, and humanized museum visiting environment. In recent years, the museum has been waiting for opportunities to renovate and upgrade, aiming to improve conditions, elevate standards, reshape its image.

In November 1999, with the approval of the State Council, Qingpu County was changed to Qingpu District. Qingpu County Museum was renamed Qingpu District Museum.

As Shanghai developed into an international metropolis, Qingpu District, as a suburban area of Shanghai, also accelerated its urbanization process. The Qingpu District Party Committee and District Government kept pace with the times, seizing the opportunity as Shanghai’s urban construction focus shifted from the city center to the suburbs. They fully tapped into and utilized the district’s cultural resource advantages, expanded the water town-characteristic cultural industry, and included the construction of a brand-new museum in the 10th Five-Year Plan for the district’s national economic and social development. The district was committed to creating a modern, high-quality new district cultural center with the Songze Square Museum as its iconic cultural building. Against this backdrop, Qingpu District Museum’s new building emerged and was successfully completed and opened to the public.

The new museum is located in Qingpu District’s Songze Square, with a construction area of approximately 8,800 square meters, designed by the renowned architectural master Xing Tonghe. The main structure of the building consists of five intersecting ellipses, giving it the appearance of a butterfly about to take flight. It uses advanced architectural decoration materials, appearing delicate and shining brilliantly.

The entire building is divided into five main areas by the five ellipses. The central part is the lobby, featuring an 8-meter-high large stone bas-relief titled "Ode to Qinglong" as the thematic backdrop, creating a solemn and elegant atmosphere. It serves as a public space for providing services and resting for visitors.

The east and south wings are exhibition areas, covering an exhibition space of 3,600 square meters and displaying over a thousand pieces of fine cultural relics. The new museum breaks away from traditional relic display models, adopting the new concepts of modern museum communication as its guiding principle. It utilizes high-tech methods such as sound, light, and electricity, combining relic displays with scene reconstructions, exquisite informational images, and multimedia aids. This approach allows visitors to easily and enjoyably understand Qingpu’s history and interpret ancient Shanghai.

“The Source of Shanghai’s Ancient Civilization” is the theme of the south wing’s exhibition. Starting from the formation of Shanghai’s landmass, it introduces exquisite relics unearthed from ancient cultural sites in Qingpu such as Songze and Fushan Mountain, narrating the long and colorful history of ancient Shanghai from the Majiabang, Songze, Liangzhu, and Maqiao cultures to the Spring and Autumn and Han Dynasties. It tells visitors that Qingpu is the birthplace of Shanghai’s ancient civilization.

“The Charm of Shencheng’s Water Culture” is the theme of the east wing’s exhibition. Visitors can learn about the historical changes in Qingpu’s water systems and administrative setups through the theme “Vicissitudes of the Sea and Fields.” The reconstructed harbor scene of Qinglong Town is grand and majestic, recreating the bustling street scenes and prosperity of the Song Dynasty overseas trade port of Qinglong Town. Sections such as “Bridge Culture” and “Water Town Scenery” introduce the folk customs of Qingpu during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, showcasing the charming and picturesque scenery of the water town. “A Land of Talent” allows visitors to appreciate how Qingpu has been a place of outstanding people since ancient times.

The northwest wings, totaling 3,600 square meters, serve as office, reception, and temporary exhibition areas. The new museum will open to the public with a completely new look, contributing to Qingpu’s cultural endeavors.

Address: No. 1000 Huqing South Road, Qingpu District

Transportation: Huqing Special Line Park Road Huqing Road, Shangzhu Line, Zhuxu Line Huqing Road Qingzhou Road, Qingpu Route 6/Qingpu Route 3 Qingpu Museum

Phone: 69719900

Opening Hours: Open all year 9:00–16:30

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China