Exhibiting strange ideas
- Source: Global Times
- [09:41 September 08 2010]
- Comments
By Hu Bei
Museums are not always dry, dusty and encyclopedic. Shanghai has some intriguing museums with specialist subjects to attract visitors. Many of them are in places you do not expect but are well worth the search.
The Global Times has checked out some of the city's specialist museums to help you learn more about the history of the city and some of its unexpected places of interest.
The Shanghai Fire Museum
Shanghai was one of the first Chinese cities to establish a modern fire department and this museum traces the history of firefighting from the early fire brigades to modern well-equipped firemen.
The fire ladders and hoses of yesteryear have become valuable antiques and in the entrance hall of the museum are two rare pieces: a 1930 wooden extension ladder; and a red Merryweather steam fire engine imported from England in 1908, the very first fire engine in China.
As well as the more than 21,000 items about firefighting, the Fire Museum features a series of high-tech multi-media exhibits including displays of the different types of flames and rescue training which offers visitors useful survival tips.
Yuan Fang, the senior guide at the museum said a recent survey showed that few pupils in Shanghai had received basic fire safety education. "Groups should make reservations in advance but our fire safety training is open to individuals at 3 pm every Wednesday. It is vital that everyone, not just students, learns more about fire safety."
Visitors can experience, with the help of a 4-D projector and surround sound, the work of a modern firefighter in the first 4-D movie about firefighting made in China.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 11:30 am, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Address: 229 Zhongshan Road West 中山西路229号
Admission: Free
Call 2895-5751, 2895-5295 for details
The Shanghai Postal Museum
This Baroque-style museum (pictured) is just as famous for its splendid exterior as for its content. Its ornate main exhibition area is known as "the First Hall of the Far East."
The museum has five exhibition halls, an exquisite courtyard and roof garden and its imposing clock tower. Standing on the roof garden, you get a panoramic view of both sides of the Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River.
Stamp collectors and people interested in learning about the development of the postal service in Shanghai and in China will find this intriguing.
From rare ancient stamps from China in imperial times to rarities from the People's Republic of China, the museum showcases a treasure trove of stamps in different shapes and materials - there are even stamps designed in silk, crystal and chocolate.
Some of the historical examples of the postal service include a 1909 horse-drawn postal carriage, a 1917 postal truck and a postbox, complete with an embossed dragon pattern from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
