It was dismal day in Shanghai and options to stay warm and dry beyond walking around a shopping mall are few. So it was that we ended up at the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum.
Now if ever there was a way of putting people off going to a museum it would be to call it the Urban Panning Museum. However I had heard that it was very good and having been to the Nanjing version several years ago, the time had come to venture forth into People’s Square.
We decided against the extra 10RMB to get into a separate exhibition of African art (seems a strange place to house it!) and handed over 30rmb each to get in.
As well as the numerous video clips of old Shanghai, the dock workers unloading boats on the Bund, the early cars, the hordes of people going about their business in narrow streets, the white western ex-pats reclining on their chairs with pipes and hats, there were still images and lots of infographics, interactive displays and a glimpse into the Shanghai of the future.
The crowning glory of the 6 floors of exhibition must be the scale model of the city around which you can walk and search out your community. It’s even more impressive from above though, looking down onto a city, which in reality even on a clear day from the highest building in Pudong, you cannot see the suburbs for the air pollution.
The exit is a struggle to find and after failing to leave via the entrance doors, we were forced underground through the gift shop (‘Exit through the Gift Shop’!) and out into a street called 1930 and the Metro – what a strange exit.
For a cheap and convenient outing the Urban Planning Exhibition is a good option. It’s very well done and there’s plenty for old and young and a coffee shop (lacking in ambiance so we didn’t partake). They have clearly put a lot of effort into this museum and it easy to see why it’s such a popular tourist destination for visitors to Shanghai.