The Shenzhen Natural History Museum officially opened its doors in the Pingshan District, establishing itself as South China’s largest comprehensive natural history museum, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau. Spanning a total floor area of 105,300 square meters near Yanzi Lake, the newly inaugurated cultural landmark aims to serve as an indoor-and-outdoor public education center showcasing modern ecological civilization.
Architecture and Design Inspired by a River Delta
Designed collaboratively by architectural studios 3XN, B+H Architects, and Zhubo Design, the museum’s physical structure mirrors the natural geography of its surroundings. The building is shaped like a “river delta” surrounded by the Pingshan River, Yanziling Hill, the Chi’ao River area, and the Dunzi River Wetland. The complex features five conical structures with flowing lines designed to echo the winding path of the Pingshan River.
Breaking away from traditional closed museum formats, the facility incorporates a continuous rooftop botanical garden featuring over 600 meters of walking trails. This elevated green space connects directly to Yanziling Park and the Chi’ao Wetland Nature Study Trail, extending the visitor experience directly into the surrounding natural landscape.
Exhibition Halls and Natural Archives
The museum houses eight permanent exhibition halls that guide visitors through a continuous, chronological narrative of time and space. According to the Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau, these halls span the Cosmos, Earth, Evolution, Dinosaur, Human, Biology, Ecology, and Homeland galleries, covering billions of years of universe history, the evolution of Earth, and 3.8 billion years of life’s development.
Inside these galleries, the museum displays a vast natural archive comprising 7,461 authentic specimens, 338 replicas, and 194 additional exhibits. Key paleontological highlights include the Chinese fossil plant Archaefructus, an Iguanodon dinosaur, the feathered dinosaur Anchiornis, an Ichthyosaur fossil, and a Cretaceous dinosaur fossil assemblage originating from Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces.
Local Biodiversity and Public Facilities
The Homeland Hall alone features over 1,600 local specimens documenting the region’s diverse ecosystems, ranging from migratory birds in Shenzhen Bay and native plants on Wutong Mountain to insects in urban green spaces and marine life in Dapeng Bay. Liu Lei, Party secretary and director of the Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau, stated at a media briefing that the venue is positioned to offer a complete view of Shenzhen in geographic space and ecology from a global perspective.
In addition to its primary galleries, the cultural complex includes a 1,630-square-meter temporary exhibition hall, a nature theater, and a dome theater to expand its public education programming.
Worth a look