China Maritime Museum, Maritime museum in Nanhui New City, China.

The China Maritime Museum stands by Dishui Lake at 197 Shengang Avenue in Nanhui New City. Its centre is a white-sail form that reads from afar as a white magnolia, and the exhibition wings were designed by a team from Italy's Fincantieri, Rosetti Marino and Genoa Maritime Museum. Because of the shape, every glass pane, steel plate and aluminium sheet is a different size. The site covers 24,830 m², with 46,434 m² of building, 21,000 m² of indoor and 6,000 m² of outdoor display space.

The building was constructed from 2006 to 2009 and was China's first institution dedicated entirely to maritime heritage. This milestone marked a new focus on documenting and sharing the nation's seafaring legacy.

The displays show traditional navigation methods, trade routes, and ancient ship models that document China's maritime past across different periods. Visitors can see objects from various eras that tell the story of how seafaring shaped the region.

The museum opens at 9:30 and closes at 16:00, and it is closed on Mondays except public holidays. It stands at 197 Shengang Avenue in Lingang New City, by Dishui Lake; take Metro Line 16 to Dishui Lake station and transfer to bus 1096. Entry is free on 15 July, China's National Maritime Day.

Two curved shells made of light-gray granite meet at a single point and are connected by a glass facade supported by pretensioned cable networks. This unusual construction creates a remarkably open and airy interior environment within the museum.