Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center (上海城市规划展示馆, Shànghǎi Chéngshì Guīhuà Zhǎnshìguǎn) on People’s Square is where Shanghai shows its own city to itself. Go for the scale model: a 1:500 model of the urban area, covering over 100 square kilometres inside the Inner Ring Road, according to Chinese Wikipedia. It is a quick way to see the layout of the city before you walk it. Hours and entry rules were not confirmed on an official page, so check ahead.

The centre is open as far as can be told. Chinese Wikipedia says it closed for renovation on 1 December 2019, began a public trial on 19 February 2022 and reopened on 9 August 2022. The official site was reachable when this entry was written, but it shows no notices and its newest exhibition had ended in January 2024, so confirm the current schedule before you go.

The building is next to the municipal government building. English Wikipedia describes it as six storeys above ground and two below, 43 metres high, and names Ling Benli of the East China Architecture Design & Research Institute as architect. It officially opened on 25 February 2000.

The model is the main draw. English Wikipedia describes it as a large scale model of urban Shanghai showing both existing buildings and approved ones, so it records planned changes as well as what stands today. Chinese Wikipedia gives the scale and area quoted above. The two pages do not give the model’s dimensions, and neither does this entry.

Around the model, the centre hosts exhibitions on how the city plans its growth. A Shanghai government news page of February 2018 reports that a third-floor “Shanghai 2035” exhibition, said to be the first official show on the city’s long-term master plan after State Council approval of the plan in December, drew more than 1,300 visitors a day during the Spring Festival holiday. Exhibitions change, so what is on now may differ.

Show the Chinese address on this page to a taxi driver.