Memorial of the First National Congress of the CPC
Three things under one museum: the original shikumen house on Xingye Road where the Communist Party of China held its first congress on 23 July 1921, the large memorial and exhibition hall opened next to it in 2021, and the Oath Hall between — the museum's own English page describes them as three parts of one site. Free, no reservation, six free guided tours a day, security check at the door, closed Mondays, national 5A attraction. For foreign visitors it is the easiest major political-history site in the city to walk into — and the exhibition is worth an hour for the story of Shanghai in the 1920s, whatever you think of the politics.
Walk in, no reservation. Free guided tours six times a day — 9:30, 10:30, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:00 — just turn up; no booking (same timetable at the First Congress Memorial and Zhou's residence). Oath ceremonies are booked in the museum's WeChat mini-program; groups of 30-80 via the WeChat official account or mini-program, tour bookings 021-53832171 ext. 111 / 222; English-page hotlines 021-53830723, 021-53832171Verified · 2026-09Source ↗
No ID rule is published for standard entry. No reservation and no ID requirement stated; priority entry (honoured party members, over-65s, disabled visitors, military, Shanghai-aid medical staff) with documents
Party study groups fill weekday mornings; individual visitors find it clearly emptier after 14:00. On holidays the museum imposes temporary crowd control when it hits capacity.
English and Japanese guides on regular duty and 160 audio guides in seven foreign languages, per the memorial's own guide quoted by Guangming Daily (June 2026); availability and charges at a given time not stated
How to visit
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Answers you'll need here
- Do Shanghai museums still need a reservation, and can I book on a foreign passport?Depends · Big museums are walk-in again. Where you still book, official channels take passports; WeChat-only venues are the catch.
- Can I hire a guide inside Shanghai's museums, or buy a third-party 'with guide' ticket?No · Not inside. The three big sites ban paid outside guides; use their free scheduled tours and audio guides instead.