The newest major museum in Shanghai, opened in 2015 in the Jing'an Sculpture Park, is one of the best natural history museums in Asia. The building — a spiral design loosely based on the shape of a nautilus shell, half buried in the park — is architecturally distinguished and entirely at odds with the generic museum architecture of earlier Shanghai institutions.
The collection covers natural history from the origins of life through prehistoric China, with particularly strong paleontology (including multiple dinosaur specimens discovered in China) and exhibits on the ecosystems of the Yangtze Delta region. The interactive elements are well-designed for Chinese and international visitors. Admission charged; open Tuesday–Sunday. North Shaanxi Road in Jing'an Sculpture Park.