Museums across Shanghai have rolled out various nighttime tour packages, offering immersive cultural experiences to attract visitors, as museums remain a top destination for summer holidaymakers.
A total of 45 museums in Shanghai have extended their opening hours to the evening to allow more visitors to fully experience museum exhibitions.
The Shanghai Museum has extended its opening hours until 9 p.m. starting July 1, allowing visitors more time to appreciate the ongoing "Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition."
Additionally, the museum offers special tours based on role-playing games, where visitors can participate in missions, collect stamps, and explore ancient Egyptian civilization while immersing themselves in the stories behind the artifacts.
A tourist shared his experience of visiting the Shanghai Museum with his friend this time.
"I came specifically for the Shanghai Museum's night tour. I'm dressed as a 'high priest' while he's wearing a prince's costume -- we wanted the full immersive experience of the script-based tour," said the visitor.
Huang He, deputy curator of the Shanghai Museum, noted significant growth in visitors since the launch of the diverse nighttime activities.
"Our summer foot traffic has increased 30 to 40 percent compared with that of previous years without night openings. We're seeing about 3,000 visitors on night tours, with appointment slots for weekend visits fully booked one to two weeks in advance," said Huang.
The summer surge hasn't just boosted ticket sales but also museum merchandise revenue.
"The most interesting part is the peripheral cultural products -- I especially love the black cat I bought, which perfectly represents ancient Egyptian cats' imagery," said a visitor.
"Our peripheral cultural creative product sales have reached nearly 10 million yuan (about 1.4 million U.S. dollars) since July 1. We're running promotions with 30-50 percent discounts on selected items such as lucky bags," said Feng Wei, Deputy Director of the museum's cultural innovation center.
This summer, Shanghai's Fengxian Museum debuted a new nighttime tour event, featuring culture dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), with extended weekend hours until 9 p.m. through August.
At the museum, Hanfu-clad docents demonstrated traditional Tang etiquette like cross-hand and kneeling rituals, allowing visitors to experience Tang Dynasty culture through immersive engagement.
"Tang Dynasty customs surprised me -- so many formal rituals and makeup styles different from today. It seems like such a fun era with amazing food," said a young visitor.
Apart from exhibitions, the museum also provides visitors with paper-tearing art workshops.
"I'm making a dancing figurine in the Tang Dynasty. This is my first time trying paper-tearing art -- it requires incredible patience, especially the hollowed sections," said another visitor.
"Our 'Museum Night' events incorporate intangible cultural heritage paper-tearing art, featuring designs based on yellow glaze pottery figurines and the terracotta figurine of a camel carrying Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology. In August, we'll host two more special night events," said Qin Jing, a staff member of the Fengxian Museum.
A series of nighttime tour activities is held this summer to further leverage museums' important role in empowering economic and social development and enhancing quality of life, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Nighttime tour programs at Shanghai's museums offer visitors immersive cultural experiences
