China's first public science and technology library, completed in 1931 by the Chinese Science Society and named after mathematician Hu Mingfu. It is now Huangpu's district library, free all year, with a small exhibition on the old society in a modernist building fronted by dawn redwoods. Inside, century-old steel windows, shelves and a hand-operated book lift survive, and the collection includes over 20,000 foreign-language volumes; the city's own guide calls it a hidden gem.
- Address
- 235 South Shaanxi Road, Huangpu District
- Hours
- Most rooms 08:30-21:00, Tue from 13:00; closed Thu (Shanghai government, May 2024; check)
- Best time to go
- Afternoon · About 45 min
- Price
- Free (Shanghai government, May 2024)
- Price level
- ¥
Details can change. Check hours and prices before you go.
Good to know
- The exhibition on the former Mingfu Library site is in the Mingfu Building
- Closed on Thursdays