Madame Tussauds Shanghai is located on the 10th floor of New World City at 2-68 West Nanjing Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai. As the sixth Madame Tussauds in the world and the first one in mainland China, it is a renowned wax museum under Merlin Entertainments. Its core feature is to create an immersive celebrity culture experience space with highly realistic celebrity wax figures as the core carrier, integrating interactive experiences, scene reproduction and multimedia technologies, covering wax figures of famous personalities in film, music, sports, politics, science and technology and other fields. The venue is built based on the New World City commercial complex, with a total construction area of about 3,000 square meters. The exhibition areas are compactly laid out with clear functional divisions, and multiple themed exhibition areas are set up in the museum, which can accommodate hundreds of visitors at the same time. It is one of the most distinctive cultural and tourism landmarks in the West Nanjing Road business district of Shanghai.
History and Culture
The brand of Madame Tussauds dates back to 1835, founded by French wax artist Marie Tussaud in London. Relying on exquisite wax figure making craftsmanship and a unique cultural display form, it has gradually developed into a world-famous cultural IP. Marie Tussaud studied wax figure making skills under the physician Philippe Curtius in her early years. Her initial wax figure works were famous for restoring the images of figures during the French Revolution. The wax figures she made became an important carrier for recording historical figures at that time due to their realistic shapes and exquisite details.
Madame Tussauds Shanghai officially opened to the public on May 1, 2006, as the first stop of the Madame Tussauds brand layout in mainland China, filling the gap of high-end wax figure culture experience venues in East China. On the basis of inheriting the century-old wax figure making craftsmanship, the venue continuously updates the lineup of wax figures by combining Chinese local cultural characteristics and Shanghai's international urban temperament. It not only introduces wax figures of international superstars, but also focuses on displaying outstanding figures from various fields in China, becoming an important window for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Up to now, Madame Tussauds Shanghai has updated more than 300 celebrity wax figures in total. It usually takes about 6 months to make a single wax figure, involving hundreds of processes such as accurate human body data collection, material selection and detailed carving, to ensure that the facial expressions, skin tones, hair and other details of the wax figures are highly consistent with real people.
Main Attractions
Film Star Zone
As one of the core exhibition areas of Madame Tussauds Shanghai, the Film Star Zone covers an area of about 400 square meters, gathering wax figures of top domestic and foreign film actors, including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and other famous artists. The zone recreates classic film scenes, such as martial arts fight scenes and classic shots of Hollywood blockbusters. Visitors can interact and take photos with the wax figures to experience the atmosphere of film shooting immersively. The zone is also equipped with multimedia sound and lighting effects to enhance the realism of the scenes.
Music Pioneer Zone
Focusing on famous artists in the music field, the Music Pioneer Zone covers a variety of music styles such as pop, rock and classical, displaying wax figures of singers including Jay Chou, Teresa Teng, Eason Chan, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson and others. The zone has set up an interactive area with a simulated stage, where visitors can hold virtual microphones and "sing" on the same stage with the singers' wax figures. Some areas are also equipped with sound systems playing classic songs of the corresponding artists. Covering an area of about 350 square meters, this zone is a popular check-in spot for young visitors.
Sports Star Zone
Covering an area of about 280 square meters, the Sports Star Zone displays wax figures of legendary sports figures such as Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Li Na, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer and others. The wax figures recreate the classic competition postures of athletes, such as Yao Ming's shooting action, Liu Xiang's hurdling moment, Li Na's hitting posture and so on. The zone also exhibits some replicas of sports equipment, such as basketballs and tennis rackets, allowing visitors to experience the competition style of sports stars up close. Next to some wax figures, there are display boards introducing the figures' achievements, helping visitors understand the brilliant careers of the athletes.
Celebrity Hall Zone
Focusing on outstanding figures in politics, science and technology, culture and other fields, the Celebrity Hall Zone displays wax figures of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and other figures. Covering an area of about 320 square meters, the zone has an elegant and solemn overall style, showing the important contributions of these figures to the development of human society through text introductions and scene restoration. This zone is also an important popular science area for teenagers to understand history, science and technology culture, and receives research groups from primary and secondary schools all year round.
Interactive Experience Zone
As a characteristic area of the venue, the Interactive Experience Zone covers an area of about 500 square meters and includes experience projects such as wax figure making craft display, AR interactive photo taking and virtual dress-up. Visitors can watch some processes of wax figure making through a transparent workshop to understand the materials and production process of wax figures; the AR interactive photo taking equipment can synthesize visitors' images with wax figures to generate interesting group photos; the virtual dress-up system allows visitors to experience the same clothing styles as celebrity wax figures. This zone has greatly enhanced the interactivity and fun of the venue.
Tour Route
Visitors are recommended to enter from the venue entrance on the 10th floor of New World City and first visit the Celebrity Hall Zone to learn about the deeds of outstanding figures in different fields, laying a foundation for cultural experience, and the visiting time of this zone is about 20 minutes; then go to the Film Star Zone to experience classic film scenes and take photos with favorite actors' wax figures, with a visiting time of about 30 minutes; then enter the Music Pioneer Zone to participate in stage interactive experiences and feel the charm of music, with a visiting time of about 25 minutes; after that, go to the Sports Star Zone to get close to sports stars' wax figures and understand sports culture, with a visiting time of about 20 minutes; finally arrive at the Interactive Experience Zone to participate in wax figure making popular science, AR interaction and other projects, with a visiting time of about 35 minutes. The total tour time of the whole route is about 130 minutes. There are clear guide signs between each exhibition area in the venue, and visitors can adjust the visiting order according to their own interests. The venue also provides free audio guide equipment, which can be obtained by scanning the QR code to help visitors understand the background information of each wax figure in depth.
Travel Tips
- Best visiting time: 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. or 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on working days, when there are fewer visitors in the venue, you can avoid queuing and have a better photo-taking experience; it is recommended to avoid peak hours on weekends and holidays, staying away from the passenger flow peak from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- Recommended visiting duration: Reserve 2 to 2.5 hours for visiting, which allows you to visit all exhibition areas completely and have enough time to participate in interactive experience projects, avoiding a hasty visit.
- Supporting experience suggestion: After the visit, you can go to the catering area of New World City for meals or stroll around the West Nanjing Road business district, creating a one-stop travel experience combined with shopping and catering.
- Parent-child travel suggestion: Visitors with children can focus on visiting the Celebrity Hall Zone and the Interactive Experience Zone. The venue provides exclusive guide brochures for children to help them understand the stories of figures and enhance the fun and educational nature of the visit.
- Photo-taking suggestion: When taking photos with wax figures, you can combine with the scene props in the exhibition area and choose a suitable angle. Avoid using flash to prevent affecting the texture of the wax figures. Professional photo-taking services are available in some exhibition areas, which can be chosen as needed.
Notes
- Do not touch the facial features, hair, clothing and other detailed parts of the wax figures to avoid damage. There are warning signs in the venue, and the staff will also remind you in time.
- Do not bring food and beverages into the exhibition areas. There are lockers at the venue entrance for storing personal belongings to keep the exhibition areas clean and tidy.
- Do not make loud noises, run or frolic in the exhibition areas to maintain the visiting order of the venue and respect the experience of other visitors.
- Photography and video recording regulations: Individual visitors can take photos and short videos for non-commercial use free of charge. The use of professional photography equipment (such as SLR cameras, tripods, etc.) for commercial shooting is prohibited. If commercial shooting is needed, please apply to the venue management in advance and go through relevant procedures.
- Ticket usage regulations: Once the ticket is sold, it will not be refunded or exchanged except for force majeure events stipulated by law. The ticket is only valid on the date marked on the ticket and will be invalid after expiration.
- Notes for special groups: Children under 1.2 meters in height must be accompanied by an adult to enter the venue. Elderly people over 70 years old and people with disabilities can enjoy ticket discounts with valid certificates. There are barrier-free accesses in the venue for the convenience of special groups.
Transportation
- Subway: Take Line 1 to People's Square Station, exit from Exit 1 and walk about 300 meters to reach New World City; or take Line 2 or Line 8 to People's Square Station, exit from Exit 7 and walk about 400 meters to arrive.
- Bus: Take bus routes such as No.18, No.20, No.37, No.49, No.64, No.108, No.123, No.145, No.537, No.929 to People's Square Station and walk for 5 to 10 minutes to reach.
- Self-driving: Self-driving visitors can park their cars in the underground parking lot of New World City, the entrance of which is on West Nanjing Road, with a parking fee of 15 yuan per hour. There are also supporting parking areas around the venue such as Shanghai People's Square Underground Parking Lot and Raffles City Parking Lot.
- Taxi: You can directly locate "Shanghai New World City (West Nanjing Road Branch)", enter from the main gate of the mall after getting off the taxi, and take the elevator to the 10th floor to reach the venue entrance.
Opening Hours
10:00 to 21:00 from Monday to Sunday, with the last admission at 20:00, and visitors need to complete the admission before 20:00. The opening hours will be slightly adjusted on legal holidays. For example, during the Spring Festival and National Day, the opening hours are 9:30 to 21:30 with the last admission at 20:30; during the short holidays such as New Year's Day, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, the opening hours are 10:00 to 21:30 with the last admission at 20:30.
Tickets
The ticket price is 169 yuan per person. You can search for the official service account "上海杜莎夫人蜡像馆" on WeChat to get the latest news or buy tickets online.
Online Booking
Click here to jump to the Trip.com ticketing platform for ticket purchase.