Shenzhen Natural History Museum opens on July 28

The Shenzhen Natural History Museum, located in Pingshan District, opens to the public today. As one of Shenzhen's major cultural projects, the museum is set in the Yanzi Lake area and marks the debut of South China's largest comprehensive natural history museum, adding a new cultural landmark to the city's tourism landscape.

A 'river delta' by Yanzi Lake

Designed as a "river delta," the building spans a total floor area of 105,300 square meters and is surrounded by the Pingshan River, Yanziling Hill, the Chi'ao River area, and the Dunzi River Wetland. It features five conical structures with flowing lines that mirror the winding Pingshan River.

A view of the Shenzhen Natural History Museum in Pingshan District.

A rooftop botanical garden with more than 600 meters of walking trails connects to Yanziling Park and the Chi'ao Wetland Nature Study Trail, extending the visitor experience beyond the museum's walls and breaking away from the traditional "closed" format of cultural venues.

At a news briefing with the media, Liu Lei, Party secretary and director of the Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau, said that the museum is positioned as "South China's largest innovative natural history museum, a comprehensive indoor-and-outdoor natural history public education center, and a platform for showcasing examples of China's modern ecological civilization." It aims to offer a complete view of "Shenzhen in geographic space and ecology from a global perspective."

The museum features a rooftop botanical garden.

From cosmos to homeland in eight halls

The museum's eight permanent exhibition halls Cosmos, Earth, Evolution, Dinosaur, Human, Biology, Ecology, and Homeland tell a continuous story. Visitors will explore the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe, the 4.6-billion-year evolution of Earth, and 3.8 billion years of life's evolution, before arriving at Shenzhen's local natural environment.

This layered narrative of time and space guides guests from the wonder of stargazing to the reality beneath their feet. It is not a story that simply ends with inherited facts; it culminates in a question shared by all: how can humans live in harmony with nature rather than apart from it?

The Cosmos Hall.

The Dinosaur Hall.

The Homeland Hall.

The museum also includes a 1,630-square-meter temporary exhibition hall, as well as a nature theater and a dome theater, further expanding its educational offerings.

A natural archive of 7,461 specimens

The museum displays 7,461 authentic specimens, 338 replicas, and 194 other exhibits, providing a window into the natural world.

Its collection balances global perspectives with local identity. Visitors can view four restored Western classical star charts, along with representative rocks, mineral crystals, and fossils from around the world. It also presents a rich display of biodiversity, featuring species from six major zoogeographic regions.

The Human Hall.

The Biology Hall.

The Ecology Hall.

Key highlights include the Chinese fossil plant Archaefructus, the dinosaur Iguanodon, the feathered dinosaur Anchiornis, an Ichthyosaur fossil, and a Cretaceous dinosaur fossil assemblage from Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces, underscoring China's role as an important paleontological research hub.

The Homeland Hall alone features over 1,600 local specimens, ranging from migratory birds in Shenzhen Bay to native plants on Wutong Mountain, from insects in the city's green spaces to marine life in Dapeng Bay, forming a genuine natural archive of Shenzhen.

Together, these exhibits show that even as Shenzhen races ahead as a mega-city, it has remained committed to protecting biodiversity and advancing ecological civilization.

More photos from the museum: