The Museum of Public Security is also widely known as the Police Museum and showcases the history and activities of the shanghai police since its formation in 1854. Given Shanghai's turbulent history in the last century, and its reputation as a breeding ground for gangs, prostitutes and other illegal activities, you may expect this museum to be interesting.

The exhibits cover the shadiest eras of Shanghai's history. From the colonial period after the Opium War you can see gambling paraphernalia, calling cards of prostitutes, and illegal drugs of various kinds. From the Nationalist and civil war era you can see a newspaper, the earliest surviving, reporting local panic as inflation spiraled out of control. And from the later periods such as the Cultural Revolution of the 1950's you can see letters of confession of “counter-revolutionaries” and paperwork from the infamous Gang of Four.

There are also special exhibits themed around prisons, guns owned by famous historical figures, and fire-fighting. Highlights amongst these are the Tilanqiao Prison, built in 1902 and known as “the first prison in the far east”, and a room recreating the vast amounts of paperwork police had to use before the introduction of computers.

Not only does this museum show peculiarly Chinese methods of law enforcement, and how this changed over time, it is also worth visiting for a different and unique angle to understanding Shanghai's history.

Address: No.518, Ruijin Rd. S.
Admission: 8 yuan
Telephone: 6472-0256
Open Hours: 9am-4:30pm (close on Sunday)
Traffic: Bus No.17, 41, 43, 89, 72, 92, 146, 205, 253, 572

Shanghai Museum used to be near the Bund. It is now situated in People's Square and its new buildings were built in 1996, designed by a Shanghai architect named Xing Tonghe. The new design symbolizes China's ancient understanding of the world: round sky and square earth. The museum has a circular roof and rectangular base. It stores 120,000 precious artifacts, which narrate a story of China's 5,000-year civilization.

Even though it opens eight hours a day, it's difficult to see every corner of the museum in one day. Sculpture, furniture, calligraphy, coins, ceramics, jade-ware, minority ethnic handicrafts and ancient bronzes are on display.

It's easy to look around on your own, since labels in English are arranged beside every piece. You can also rent an audio commentary machine, but you need to pay a deposit. A free double-page tour guide is available.

Address: No.201, People's Ave, People's Square
Tel: 6372-3500
Hours: 9am-5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: 20 yuan (US$2.50); student tickets are free, but free student-group tickets must be booked in advance. Dial 6372-3500 extension 132. Tickets for retired people, soldiers and people aged over 70 or under 18 are free. A 45-yuan discount package is available (Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Grand Theater).
Traffic: Metro line 1and Metro line 2 (People's Square Station)

The Bibliotheca is part of Shanghai Library and is housed within the Ignatius Church built by the French Jesuit Society in the 1847. Its distinctive villa architecture is listed as a protected building by the Shanghai government, and includes the main building which used to be the priests residence during the 19th Century, and a smaller building which used to store religious books.

Shanghai city has spent 4 years renovating the interior, and the result is a strange mixture of colonial 1930's interior with an exterior from obviously a much earlier period. This doesn't mean however that it is unpleasant to walk around. On the contrary the cool marble and dark oak interior makes an ideally peaceful location for a library.

The bibliotheca itself is located on the second floor and has the city's largest collection of old foreign language books, documents and encyclopedias. The figures are impressive: a collection of 560,000 volumes, transcripts and other historical documents in 20 languages dating back to 1515. However you won't be able to see any of these, or even enter the library without a Shanghai library membership card.

The exception to this is Saturday from 14:00 to 16:00 when there is a free tour of the library.

Address: No.80, Caoxi Rd. N., near Puxi Rd.
Tel: 6456-6085, 6457-6327
Ticket Price: Free for general visits.
Open Hours: Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm for library pass holders. For general visitors Saturday 2pm-4pm
Traffic: Metro line 1 (Xujiahui station), take Exit 3 and turn left.

Shanghai Library is the second biggest public library in China. It's not really a tourist site as the building is newly constructed, and most of the books (and readers) are Chinese. You must have a library card to use any of the reading rooms, and there is an English booklet explaining the four types of cards available. The cheapest, “read only” card is 5 yuan per year and you need to bring your passport or Shanghai residence permit to apply.

The library stocks Chinese books and periodicals and also a number of foreign books, plus Hong Kong and Taiwanese newspapers, a UN Depository, and ancient Chinese books. One thing you can't escape in Shanghai recently is the World Expo which is due to open in 2010, and there is an info centre in the library where you can find out more. The side door on Gao'an Road leads to the rather neglected audio-visual section of the library. There you can find some sporadically staffed audio and video sections where you can listen to and watch a selection of Chinese and foreign media.

There's a distinct lack of places to eat or drink after a hard day studying in the library. A deserted canteen in what the Chinese call the ground floor (known as the basement in the West) serves cheap Chinese food. Otherwise there is a small café on the first floor foyer.

Address: No.1555, Huaihai Rd. M. near Gao'an Road
Telephone: 6445-5555
Open Hours: 8:30am-8:30pm
Traffic: Metro line 1 (Hengshan Road Station)

Located on busy Nanjing Road in People's Square, Shanghai Art Museum has 12 exhibition halls, covering more than 5,000 square meters. The building itself is a charming area to walk around as it used to be the club house of Shanghai's Race Club built in the 1930's.

It was renovated as a museum in March 2000 and interestingly during the process some distinctly Chinese features were added to this British style building. These are the wooden structures which you can see next to the front gate (Zhu shi Ji gou in Chinese). They're a feature of traditional Chinese architecture in palaces and temples. The structure is held together through hammering together wooden joins and not a single piece of metal bolts or screws are used.

Whilst enjoying the architecture, you can also peruse the different exhibits that change throughout the year. Nominally the museum has no set style though there's a bias towards contemporary Chinese art——which makes an interesting contrast to the faded grandeur of the colonial era building. It is well worth spending an afternoon here to gain an insight into Chinese perspectives on modern art and modern life. Walking around the building will take around two to three hours depending on how carefully you want to look at the exhibits.

Unfortunately, for such a large and centrally located museum the English language support is patchy. Explanations beside the paintings are brief and not always translated. More problematic is the fact that exhibition schedules are in Chinese only, and so is the Website. There is however an audio guide that is in English.

Address: No.325, Nanjing Road W. near Huangpi Rd. N.
Tickets: 20 yuan/person, 5 yuan/student
Telephone: 6327-2829
Open Hours: 9am-4pm
Traffic: Metro line 1 or Metro line 2 (People's Square Station)