Shanghai Sports Museum  Photo:Chen Xia/GT

A new sports museum — Shanghai Sports Museum — opened on Sunday, with over 1,200 exhibits and 500 historical pictures, attracting many visitors to experience over 100 years of sports history in Shanghai.

At the opening ceremony of the museum on Sunday, several Olympic champions including diving athlete Wu Minxia, table tennis athlete Wang Liqin, boxer Zou Shiming, swimmer Le Jingyi and sports shooter Tao Luna all sent their blessings through video messages to the museum. Visitors can come and see pictures of Shanghai's 13 Olympic champions, demonstrating the city's sports development over the decades.

The museum is located in the former Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) building near the People's Square, which itself has a long history. The building opened in 1928 and had one of the earliest swimming pools with warm water in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Sports Museum contains four main exhibition halls: the ship of history, light of Olympics, city of vigor and window of the future, with an exhibition area of 1,813 square meters.

Ancient Greek Olympic Games commemorative copper coins from 2,300 years ago are also exhibited. Stamps from the first modern Olympic Games, emblems, medals, mascots and other exhibits from previous Olympic Games are showcased at the museum as well.

Visitors need to make a reservation before visiting. The exhibition is free.