Design for Shanghai Museum's new eastern branch unveiled

Shanghai's Pudong Planning and Land Authority unveiled the final design for the eastern branch of the Shanghai Museum, a new cultural landmark set to be located in Lujiazui in east Shanghai, on June 16.

The new branch, which will be located to the west of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, will cover a combined floor area of 108,737 square meters. The building will be 45 meters high with six floors above ground and two floors underground.

The new museum is designed to be a world-class museum of classical Chinese art, including calligraphy, paintings and handicrafts. It aims to introduce ancient Chinese art to the world and promote Shanghai's cultural development.

It also hopes to attract an increasing number of young visitors by using advanced digital technology.

The eastern branch is considered complementary to the original museum in People's Square, which mainly displays bronzes and ceramics. The original Shanghai Museum covers an area of 39,200 square meters with 11 galleries and three special temporary exhibition halls.

The idea of establishing a new branch solves the problems of the limited space and a lack of display area in the Shanghai Museum, explained Yang Zhigang, the museum's curator.