The highly anticipated "Top of the Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Civilization" exhibition will conclude on August 17, 2025. To thank audiences at home and abroad for their love and support of the Egyptian exhibition, the Shanghai Museum will remain open for 168 consecutive hours a week before the exhibition closes. Two carnivals will be held on August 11 and 17, 2025, featuring a night market and a variety of immersive interactive activities. Shanghai Museum Director Chu Xiaobo stated, "The final seven days are also the most exciting part of the exhibition." This seven-day stay is reportedly a record for international museum opening hours.
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition at the Shanghai Museum
The Egypt Exhibition is open for 168 hours in the last 7 days
On July 29th, the Shanghai Museum held a press conference at People's Square for the "168-Hour Carnival Series of Activities for the Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition." At the event, Shanghai Museum Director Chu Xiaobo announced that the museum will remain open for 168 consecutive hours a week before the exhibition closes , with two carnival events taking place on August 11 and 17, 2025. During the 168-hour period, the museum will also launch a series of themed events, creating an unprecedented "Museum Night."
From August 11 to August 17, 2025, between 0:00 AM and 6:00 AM, the museum will offer late-night special tickets to cater to a wider audience. The late-night special tickets cost 74 yuan, with 3,000 tickets available per session.
Director Chu Xiaobo told The Paper, "We decided to keep the exhibition open for the final 168 hours because it's summer vacation and reservations are hard to come by. To cater to audiences' fondness for catching the last train, we hope to create an opportunity for them to reserve tickets. This is the first time the Shanghai Museum has done this. The final seven days are also the most exciting time of the exhibition."
"We've put a lot of planning in place, and we've taken the safety of visitors and staff into account," said Huang He, deputy director of the Shanghai Museum. "The late-night sessions are perfect for night owls and museum enthusiasts, and of course, early birds."
Shanghai Museum holds 168-hour carnival
The press conference for the "Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition 168-Hour Carnival Series"
Reporters learned that at the first carnival on August 11th, the museum will launch a new book on the theme of "Top of the Pyramids: The Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization," titled "Pyramids in China: The Making of the Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization." Edited by the Shanghai Museum and published by Yilin Press, the book focuses on the entire exhibition process, from preparation to presentation, revealing the story behind this phenomenal exhibition. The entire event will be live-streamed on the Shanghai Museum's official WeChat account, Bilibili, Weibo, and other platforms. On August 13th, the museum will also collaborate with Yilin Press to host a new book sharing session at the Shanghai Book Fair at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Furthermore, to meet the needs of more readers, the e-book "Pyramids in China: The Making of the Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization" will also be released online simultaneously, launched by Huawei Reading.
Pyramids in China: The Creation of Ancient Egyptian Civilization
During the carnival on August 11th and 17th, the Shanghai Museum will present a parade of NPC gods, Egyptian drum performances, Egyptian dance, a solo acrobatic performance, classic excerpts from the musical "Aida," and close-up magic shows. In addition, Luo Xiaoluo, known in the media as Shanghai's "people's singer," will perform two resident performances on the evenings of August 12th and 14th. On the closing night of the exhibition (August 17th), the Shanghai Museum Carnival will also feature a series of short videos reviewing the exhibition's history, reflecting on these unforgettable 395 days and paying tribute to the over 1,500 Chinese and Egyptian staff who worked on the exhibition.
Reporters learned from the Shanghai Museum that in order to ensure the smooth 168-hour continuous opening under large visitor flows, the museum has formulated a series of security measures, including recruiting volunteers inside and outside the museum to participate in activities; arranging on-site medical staff to work in shifts 24 hours a day to ensure the safety of visitors in all aspects and at all times.
Shanghai Expo 168-hour Carnival
Night market and immersive interaction
According to The Paper, from August 11th to 17th, from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM daily, the Shanghai Museum's People's Square South Gate outdoor plaza will feature nearly 200 carefully curated products from time-honored brands such as Guangmingcun, Lao Dachang, and Red House. Each brand's signature products and unique services will be showcased. A series of promotional events will also be offered, including group buys, free gifts, and other discounts. Sample food, play games, and interactive games will also be available. Visitors can also enjoy exclusive discounts at various booths with their Egypt exhibition ticket.
During the carnival, the museum will launch immersive interactive experiences such as "Archaeological Camera", Hieroglyph Deciphering Bureau, Cultural and Creative Workshops, and fun games. Participating in any interactive experience project will receive a beautiful Shanghai Museum cultural and creative product. Lucky viewers who successfully complete all designated interactive experiences that night will have the opportunity to receive a commemorative first-day cover of the Shanghai Museum's Egypt Exhibition, which will be stamped with a special edition closing day commemorative postmark.
Ancient Egypt exhibition at the Shanghai Museum
To celebrate the 168 event, the Shanghai Museum will also release an immersive check-in guide and offer promotions for cultural and creative products in the Egypt exhibition. Starting at 12:00 AM on August 11th, nearly 500 cultural and creative products will be on sale at a 50% discount; and starting at 12:00 AM on August 17th, all cultural and creative products will be on sale at a 50% discount (excluding special items). Each store will feature a special discount section, with cultural and creative products priced as low as 10 to 50 yuan.
Which cultural and creative products are considered special products? Chu Xiaobo smiled and said, "The goldware produced in collaboration with Lao Fengxiang is considered a special product."
The two carnivals will also hold raffles and a series of "EgyptAir Gifts" activities at specific times, preparing generous gifts such as tickets/vouchers for popular cultural and tourist attractions, Huawei brand electronic products, EgyptAir customized gifts, aircraft models, Shanghai-Cairo round-trip tickets and an 8-day free tour in Egypt.
One of the Shanghai Museum check-in activities
Going to a city for an exhibition
At the press conference, Chu Xiaobo reviewed the overall progress of the Egypt exhibition since its launch. As the fourth exhibition in the Shanghai Museum's "Dialogue with the World" series of cultural relics and art exhibitions, the Egypt exhibition is the largest-scale and highest-level exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts ever to be exported from Asia. It also marks the first collaboration between a Chinese official museum and the Egyptian government, presenting a comprehensive, world-class exhibition of artifacts showcasing ancient Egyptian civilization and its latest archaeological discoveries. Over 95% of the artifacts are new to Asia. The exhibition was selected as one of the seven flagship events of the 2024 "Shanghai Summer" International Consumer Season.
The Paper has learned that as of July 28, 2025, the exhibition has attracted nearly 2.6 million visitors, and is expected to exceed 2.7 million by the time of its closing. Nearly 70% of these visitors are from other provinces and cities, and over 70% of these visitors came to Shanghai specifically for this special exhibition. Chu Xiaobo stated that this exhibition embodies the principle of "visiting one city for one exhibition."
Queuing scene at the entrance of Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Museum Cultural and Creative Store
The exhibition reportedly launched over 1,200 cultural and creative products, with sales totaling nearly 2.65 million units. 449 cultural and creative events were held, attracting nearly 230,000 visitors, and generating over 400 million yuan in revenue from these activities and related products. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Shanghai Museum organized a series of events offering a one-stop cultural and tourism experience. The exhibition also garnered widespread attention from domestic and international media. According to incomplete statistics, over 350,000 online reports on the special exhibition generated over 30 billion views and over 280 million interactions. Furthermore, driven by the exhibition's continued popularity, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reported a 65% increase in inbound Chinese tourists.
To further amplify the impact of this phenomenal exhibition, the Shanghai Museum launched a series of themed promotional activities online and offline during the 100-day countdown. With the inaugural voyage of the Shanghai Museum, the "Pharaoh's Search for Intangible Cultural Heritage" national tour toured six cities, with the "Pharaoh" Xiaohongshu account posting daily diaries about his Shanghai adventures. The "Little Pharaoh Travels China" Weibo event attracted over 30 cultural and museum institutions nationwide to participate in interactive check-ins, continuously driving the exhibition to greater public attention and positive reviews.
