Shanghai Jiao Tong University Tung Chee-hwa Shipping Museum

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

　　This is a two-story building that blends Chinese and Western architectural styles, characterized by its simplicity and elegance. Originally built in the second year of the Xuantong era (1910), it initially served as a male dormitory. Designed in the British colonial architectural style, the building features corridors that run around the perimeter and a central courtyard modeled after traditional Chinese residential architecture. The high and spacious design 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 considerable effort. Entering through the vermilion wooden door, one finds gray vertical brick walls accented with orange hues, while the inner courtyard’s bluestone floor is 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 rays of sunlight to stream into the atrium, creating a serene and warm atmosphere.

　　The exhibition space 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 maritime trade 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 opening of the Tianfei Jing (The Book of the Heavenly Queen) and the later-published Zheng He Nautical 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. Together, they encapsulate the legendary life of Tung Chee-hwa, one of the “Seven Shipping Magnates 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)　　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 industry 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 Transportation 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 then 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 and the Fuxing Shipping Company in Shanghai, focusing on ocean-going shipping... More+