This is an excellent collection of artifacts from Shanghai's past. The museum, housed in the basement of the Oriental Pearl Tower, holds a collection of about 30,000 items, about half from the city's modern history and the rest unearthed dark days that predate the arrival of Johnny foreigner. The current permanent exhibition has five section: Trace back to HuaTing, Style and Features in the Town, Sketch of the Port-opening, Foreign Settlement and Old footsteps in Shanghai.