This museum in the Main Post Office building explores postal history in imperial China, which dates back to the 1st millennium BC. The system used an extensive pony express to relay messages; Marco Polo estimated there were 10,000 postal stations in 13th-century China. Check out the collection of pre- and post-Liberation stamps (1888–1978) in a special climate-controlled room. You can also inspect a historic mail-train carriage and two old post vans, one horse-drawn, plus a recreation of a Qing dynasty mail room.
Shanghai Post Museum
Hongkou & North Shanghai
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.31 MILES
With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with fish, plus pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, and roving packs of Japanese…
0.56 MILES
Symbolic of concession-era Shanghai, the Bund was the city’s Wall Street, a place of feverish trading and fortunes made and lost. Originally a towpath for…
2.39 MILES
One of Shanghai’s few active Buddhist monasteries, this temple was built between 1918 and 1928. The highlight is a transcendent Buddha crafted from pure…
1.42 MILES
China’s tallest building dramatically twists skywards from its footing in Lujiazui. The 121-storey, 632m-tall, Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower topped out…
2.67 MILES
Tianzifang and Xintiandi are based on a similar idea – an entertainment complex housed within a warren of lòngtáng (弄堂, alleyways). Unlike Xintiandi,…
1.76 MILES
With its own namesake metro station, Xintiandi has been a Shanghai icon for over a decade. An upmarket entertainment and shopping complex modelled on…
1.28 MILES
This must-see museum escorts you through the craft of millennia and the pages of Chinese history. It's home to one of the most impressive collections in…
2.2 MILES
Shanghai may be known for its glitz and glamour, but it's got an edgy subculture too. The industrial M50 art complex is one prime example, where galleries…
Nearby Hongkou & North Shanghai attractions
0.02 MILES
Overlooking Suzhou Creek, this supremely grand building dates from 1924. It's topped with a cupola and clock tower, and ornamented with bronze statues…
0.13 MILES
This riverside gallery shows mainly local artists and is a good place to get a feel for the contemporary Chinese art scene.
0.17 MILES
Designed by architects Palmer & Turner and dating back to 1935, this art deco landmark was first built for real-estate magnate Sir Victor Sassoon. Though…
0.19 MILES
In the Rockbund district, this commercial gallery is devoted to contemporary sculpture by Chinese and overseas artists.
0.26 MILES
The original British Consulate was one of the first foreign buildings to go up in Shanghai in 1852, though it was destroyed in a fire and replaced with…
0.28 MILES
Looming over Suzhou Creek, this classic brick pile (resembling a Ministry of Truth) was built to great fanfare in 1934 as an apartment block and was later…
0.28 MILES
Housed in the magnificent former Royal Asiatic Society building (1932) – once Shanghai's first museum – this world-class gallery behind the Bund focuses…
0.28 MILES
Well worth a cultural diversion, this bold and vibrant art space for both emerging and established Chinese and international names is twinned with its…