Shanghai Museum’s People’s Square location has launched a 168-hour continuous opening “challenge,” creating an unprecedented “sleepless night at the museum” during the final week of the “Top of the Pyramid: The Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization.”

As the fourth exhibition in Shanghai Museum’s “Dialogue with the World” cultural relics and art exhibition series, “Top of the Pyramid: The Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization” is the largest-scale and highest-level overseas exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts in history. It is also the first comprehensive exhibition revealing ancient Egyptian civilization and its latest archaeological discoveries through cooperation between an official Chinese museum and the Egyptian government.

To date, the exhibition has welcomed over 2.6 million visitors, setting a global record for attendance at a single paid special cultural relics exhibition in museums.

Starting from midnight on August 11, Shanghai Museum’s People’s Square location officially launched the 168-hour carnival series of events for the Ancient Egyptian Civilization exhibition. During the “ultra-long standby” seven days, a “late-night special discount ticket” from midnight to 6 a.m. was added. A promotional event with nearly 500 cultural and creative products starting at 50% off sparked a buying frenzy.

On-site visitors commented that compared to daytime, the late-night session is less crowded, improving the experience, and is very friendly to “night owls” and museum enthusiasts. “The mysterious ancient Egyptian civilization also fits well with the nighttime atmosphere. We hope this exhibition will be the starting point for more high-quality, international exhibitions to come to Shanghai.”

The Ancient Egyptian Civilization exhibition is nearing its end, coinciding with the summer peak visitor season, with enormous demand from the audience. “To allow more visitors to ‘catch the last train,’ we decided to open continuously for 168 hours and launch a series of supporting activities, hoping to provide a richer and more diverse exhibition experience for the audience.”

It was surprising that the late-night sessions were fully booked shortly after their introduction. “There are many businesses around Shanghai Museum’s People’s Square location. After viewing the exhibition and leaving the museum, many visitors can go to night markets to taste time-honored brand foods, etc., which will also play a role in boosting the city’s nighttime economy.”

Shanghai Museum

The Shanghai Museum is a major museum of ancient Chinese art, founded in 1952 and moved to its current iconic building in People’s Square in 1996. Its extensive collection of over 120,000 items is celebrated for its ancient bronzes, ceramics, paintings, and calligraphy. The building’s design itself is symbolic, with a round top and a square base reflecting the ancient Chinese perception of a round heaven and a square earth.

People’s Square

People’s Square is a major public square in Shanghai, China, originally built as a horse racing track for the British community in the colonial era. After the revolution, it was redeveloped into a political and cultural center, now housing government buildings, museums, and a large public park.

Top of the Pyramid: The Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization

This exhibition showcases over 200 artifacts from the Grand Egyptian Museum’s collection, offering a comprehensive journey through ancient Egyptian history. It traces the civilization’s development from the pre-dynastic era through the Greco-Roman period, highlighting its remarkable achievements in art, technology, and governance. The collection features royal statues, jewelry, and coffins, with many items being displayed outside of Egypt for the first time.

Dialogue with the World

“Dialogue with the World” is a public art installation in the city of Shenzhen, China, created by artist Liu Jianhua. It consists of a large, mirrored globe and a series of reflective pillars, symbolizing global connection and communication. The work was commissioned to reflect Shenzhen’s modern identity as a hub of innovation and international exchange.

Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Ancient Egyptian civilization emerged around 3100 BCE with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It is renowned for its monumental architecture, such as the pyramids and temples, and its complex religious beliefs concerning the afterlife. This highly advanced society, which lasted for over 3,000 years, made significant contributions in writing (hieroglyphs), mathematics, and governance.

Pyramid

The ancient Egyptian pyramids are monumental tombs built for pharaohs during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods (c. 2700–1700 BC). The most famous, the Great Pyramid of Giza, is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and was constructed as the final resting place for Pharaoh Khufu. These massive structures reflect the Egyptians’ advanced engineering and their profound belief in the afterlife.

Egyptian government

The Egyptian government is a republican system with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government, operating under a constitution. Its modern structure was established after the 1952 revolution that abolished the monarchy, and it has since evolved through several constitutions and periods of political change.

night markets

Night markets are vibrant, open-air street markets that operate in the evening, a tradition with deep roots in East and Southeast Asian cultures. Historically, they served as a community hub for commerce and socializing after the daytime heat. Today, they are major tourist attractions, famous for offering a vast array of affordable street food, local snacks, goods, and entertainment.