Shanghai Museum announced its Big Museum project this week when the institution kicked off the celebrations for its 70th birthday which falls on Dec 21.

According to Chu Xiaobo, the director of Shanghai Museum, the new East Wing in Pudong will open in 2025 and have a comprehensive exhibition on Chinese art history. The original museum located at People's Square will be upgraded and feature special exhibitions by that time.

A North Wing of the Shanghai Museum will also be built. This new venue will feature archaeological research and exhibitions about the Yangtze River Estuary No.2 Ancient Vessel, a shipwreck that is more than 150 years old. The boat was recently excavated from the seabed near Hengsha Island in Chongming district and transferred to a dock at the former Shanghai Shipyard located along the Huangpu River in Yangpu district.

The three venues will span more than 200,000 square meters and be capable of receiving more than 6 million visitors every year.

Shanghai Museum also plans to open overseas branches in the future, Chu said. The mission and strategy of the Big Museum project, he noted, is to "construct big facilities, initiate big research projects, allocate big resources and create big brands".

On Dec 17, the museum will host an international conference where directors of leading international museums such as the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will be in attendance.