There is also "Wonderful Night" waiting for you to experience, the first public exhibition of cultural relics from "Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" at the History Museum | Museum | First
At 4 pm, the temperature dropped slightly as the sun moved westward, and the "Museum Wonderful Night" at the Shanghai Museum of History began. The courtyard between the east and west buildings opens again, and a white curtain hangs down from the balcony on the second floor of the west building, waiting for the appearance of a light and shadow show; Several tents were set up on the lawn, adorned with water plants and coral, allowing families to experience small games such as "tying sailor knots". This not only aligns with the current camping trend, but also echoes the upcoming exhibition "Seizing Treasures from the Yangtze River and Seas - Scientific Archaeology at the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" on July 8th.
This is the first time an exhibition has been held with the theme of the "Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" ancient ship. During the exhibition period, Shangli Expo will launch a "Museum Wonderful Night" parent-child activity on the weekend. On July 6th, the reporter took the lead in visiting the camp. This wonderful night that lasts until the evening is not just an extension of the opening hours, it fully utilizes the museum space, integrating exhibitions, cultural and creative activities, knowledge popularization, and night economy consumption.
The porcelain from the ancient ship's water outlet has been unveiled to the public for the first time
Entering the Shangli Bo East Building, I saw the staff still nervously arranging the exhibition. Stepping into the exhibition hall, I could already feel the rich ocean atmosphere. The exhibition hall is mainly based on the blue color representing the ocean, and is divided into three units: "Setting Sail! Ancient Ships Reproduce Shanghai's Historical Vein", "Seeking! Underwater Archaeology China Plan", and "Water Out! Global Salvage World Benchmark". Based on the time clues since the discovery of the "Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" ancient ship, and with relevant scientific and technological, historical and cultural, and urban social issues as the latitude, it tells three stories of ancient ships, namely the era of ancient ships and Shanghai's urban development, the discovery of ancient ships and Shanghai's underwater archaeology, the salvage of ancient ships, and Shanghai's technological innovation.
The ancient wooden sailing ship "Changjiang Estuary No. 2" is currently the largest and most well preserved underwater archaeological discovery in China. Its discovery is a physical witness to Shanghai's status as a trade and shipping center in East Asia and even the world, providing physical materials for the study of the shipping history of the modern Maritime Silk Road; Its salvaged water contributes Chinese technology, experience, and solutions to underwater archaeology worldwide.
The exhibition showcases 137 pieces/set of exhibits, including the ship's hull components, water outlet porcelain, technology and equipment models, etc. Among them, 95 pieces/set of water outlet porcelain from the "Yangtze River Estuary 2" ancient ship, the ship's hull components and a series of ancient ship water outlet porcelain are all the first to be seen to the public. At the exhibition hall, the reporter saw a huge four claw iron anchor, with a pole length of 3.1 meters and four teeth length of 1.1 meters. The pole had a circular ring at the top, which was used to tie the anchor rope. "This iron anchor was discovered in the northern part of the sunken ship site and is currently one of the largest iron anchors discovered. At the time of discovery, it was also tied with an anchor rope that was over 40 meters long and about 9 centimeters thick." Zhao Luo from the Shanghai Cultural Relics Protection and Research Center introduced that the iron anchor is also covered with dense oysters and barnacles. "This is the characteristic of hydrophilic cultural relics, which attach some marine organisms."
The porcelain produced by ancient boats is also quite attractive. On site, there was a large Qing Tongzhi holly ground pile white blue and white Panasonic Gao Shitu double ear bottle. Zhao Luo still remembers that the double ear bottle was produced in Jingdezhen kiln in 2021, but due to a lot of mud in the bottle, it was not cleaned up until last year. "As a result, 50 blue and white dragon patterned cups were found inside, and their placement was also very interesting. The cups were separated by a layer of rice to prevent vibration."
There is a Jingdezhen kiln green glazed cup in the water outlet porcelain, which cannot be seen in its original color due to oxidation. "It was discovered in the cabin of the ship. Why is it special? Because it is very meaningful for determining the age of this ship. When we use the carbon-14 dating method, the closer the age is to us, the greater the error appears. The bottom of this green glazed cup has an inscription from the Tongzhi period, which suddenly narrows the age range." At the scene, there is also a light blue glazed water fume can from the Vietnamese Heli kiln. As this type of vessel is the only one, archaeologists speculate that it may belong to daily necessities or indicate that there are Vietnamese crew members on board.
Open the courtyard space of the museum and experience the "Wonderful Night"
The staff introduced that the "Jianghai Picking Treasures" exhibition has made breakthroughs in exhibition format. The exhibition hall combines "physical objects" with "original environment" display using projection and other technologies, and specially designs key exhibition items such as naked eye 3D exhibition, fog screen projection, laboratory scenes, panoramic water media show, and salvage interactive experience. Visitors can immerse themselves in the "black technology" of archaeology. Among them, the naked eye 3D exhibition project for the first time adopts eye sensing light field display technology, which can achieve ultra-high resolution 3D effects without wearing any glasses.
On the afternoon to evening of July 6th, some invited parent-child families took the lead in experiencing the "Wonderful Night of the Museum" at the Shanghai International Museum. The activities consist of exploration exhibitions, parent-child knowledge shows, children's light and shadow dramas, etc. Children can participate in alley games, handicraft activities, etc. in the open courtyard space of the museum, and experience the unique nighttime museum atmosphere.
It is worth mentioning that the two Western style buildings inside the site of the Shangli Museum were originally the Shanghai Jockey Club building, which itself has important historical and architectural aesthetic value. The East Tower was designed by British businessman Ma Haiyang and was completed in 1934; The West Building was completed no later than 1928. In late March this year, Shangli Bo opened the landscape courtyard between the east and west buildings for the first time; And the wonderful summer night will bring another visiting experience of entering museums.
On that day, Ms. Huang participated in this special "Museum Wonderful Night" with her 3-year-old child. "Although he is still young, ships are something he is interested in. Taking him to see ancient ships and starting with his interests may stimulate his interest in cultural relics and archaeology." Ms. Huang said, coupled with activities in the courtyard space of the museum, "you can feel the charm of the museum while playing, making visiting the museum a way of life."
"The summer in Shanghai is beautiful, and we hope to use the museum's unique night activities to promote nighttime economic consumption in the scene of the People's Square City that never sleeps." In the view of Zhou Qunhua, the director of the Shanghai History Museum, the museum's night activities should be "misaligned" with the normal opening of the museum during the day, rather than simply continuing the former. "This opening method emphasizes more interaction and experience. We have targeted parent-child families, developed exhibition and explanation activities for children, and leveraged market vitality, cooperated with third parties, and operated in a market-oriented manner under the leadership of the Shanghai Museum. We have also launched family packages and sea style drinks with the characteristics of the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai style in cooperation with cafes."
Careful viewers will notice that there is also a special cultural and creative space next to the exhibition hall. Zhang Muting, a staff member of the Exhibition and Education Department of the Shanghai Museum of History, introduced that the museum has planned and developed cultural and creative products such as underwater archaeological teaching boxes, cultural and creative ice cream, postcards, handbooks, puzzles, badges, etc., to bring visitors a diverse exhibition experience. Interestingly, in this cultural and creative event, there is a "sound transmission lollipop". "When children eat lollipops, they can turn on the switch below and hear a commentary specially recorded for them." Zhang Muding said that lollipops use bone conduction technology. "The earliest national museum has had it, and Shanghai's museum is still the first."
It is reported that the museum will also collaborate with the theater during the summer vacation to create a children's song and dance called "Harvesting Treasures from the River and Sea: Archaeological Excavation", and continue to explore cross-border linkage projects during the exhibition period.
The exhibition is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission. The Shanghai Museum of History, in conjunction with the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai University, the Shanghai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, the Shanghai Cultural Relics Protection and Research Center, the SMG Documentary Center, and the China Maritime Museum, will jointly organize it and will continue until October 6th.
