Founded in 1952, the Shanghai Museum holds for China and world a grand collection of history, art and antiques from ancient and living cultures. Since its foundation, the Shanghai Museum has been committing to conserving, protecting, restoring, authenticating and developing China's national culture and art treasures. Its collection continues to grow and now houses over one million works, among which 120,000 are high value. Through five thousand years of ancient China's brilliant civilization, its magnificent works cover about 21 types, including bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, jade, ivories, bamboo and wood wares, lacquered wares, oracle bones, seals, coins, furniture, etc. Its bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy collections are among the most comprehensive and finest in the world. The Shanghai Museum became a must-go landmark for its international standing and its key role in the display of our nation's cultural heritage. In recent years, over one million people visit the Shanghai Museum every year and about half of them are foreigners. The CD-ROM in English and Chinese attached to the book includes the introduction to the 150 works, video clips showing the process of traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, seal cutting, 3-D animated cartoons displaying the structure, function or manufacturing of some works. It creates a virtual world that the collections can be seen, experiences and studied in depth.