Hand-written and painted denunciation notices posted during the height of the Cultural Revolution are tucked away in one corner toward the back of the basement exhibition area. Admission is 20RMB. Read more.
The easily missed Light of Wisdom area on the first floor is a big playground with all manner of fun games, such as specially weighted bicycles that help you 'dance on a rope'. Admission is 60RMB. Read more.
A real highlight is the clay moulding station on the second floor where (from as little as 10RMB) you can recreate cartoon characters in ceramics. Admission is 30RMB. Read more.
On the third floor, the collection of weaponry - from knuckle dusters, to sawn-off shotguns and even pistols carried by Sun Yat-sen - is oddly fascinating. Admission is free. Read more.
Admission is 20RMB. In a large, open industrial space at one end of the museum, glass-blowing classes are held. You'll need to book ahead and it costs 300RMB/30 minutes, but it's a unique experience. Read more.
On the tranquil rooftop garden, beside the museum's baroque tower decorated with figures of Eros and Hermes, you can enjoy sweeping views down Suzhou Creek towards The Bund and over to Lujiazui. Read more.
Admission is 50RMB. Once you've finished touring the museum itself, head out onto the beautiful adjacent Zhoushan Lu, one of the few places left in town where you'll find people playing carrom. Read more.
As impressive as the models of The Bund and Nanking Lu in the 1930s are, our favourite is the walk-through area of neon-lit massage parlours and bathhouses from the same period. Admission is 35RMB. Read more.
Impressive in its sheer quantity. The fourth floor's collection of traditional ethnic minority costumes offers a refreshing burst of colour when you get tired of looking at yellowed scrolls. Free. Read more.
Though much of the centre can be skipped, the enormous scale model of the city on the third floor is the main reason to come here. The sheer scale of it all is worth the 30RMB entrance fee alone. Read more.
A museum from yesteryear. Come to see the 22-metre long skeleton of a giant Mamenchisaurus from the late Jurassic Period, whose bones were discovered in Sichuan province. Admission is 5RMB. Read more.
A bewildering array of smoking paraphernalia is spread over three floors, though there's no mention of the fact that China is a world leader in smoking-related deaths. Admission is free. Read more.
