An exhibit featuring snakes, the zodiac animal of 2025, is on display at the Shanghai Museum as part of an exhibition celebrating the advent of Chinese New Year. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]
The Shanghai Museum is ringing in the coming Chinese New Year with a snake-themed exhibition entitled "Slithering into Spring: A Celebration of the Year of the Snake".
Opening on Tuesday, the exhibition features 13 artifacts related to snake imagery and symbolism. Eight pieces are from the Shanghai Museum's own collection, while five are on loan from museums including the Yunnan Lijiashan Bronze Museum and the Hubei Provincial Museum.
The exhibited objects span history from the late Shang Dynasty (c. 16th-11th century BC) up to the modern age, originating from both China and abroad.
"For Chinese New Year each year, we present a special exhibition themed around that year's zodiac animal in the rotating 12-year cycle," said Chu Xin, deputy director of the exhibition department at the Shanghai Museum. "Being intimate and focused, the show this year has become quite popular."
In Chinese culture, the snake is revered as a "little dragon" — one of the primal forms from which dragon imagery emerged. Its ability to slither on land and water, hibernate, and shed its skin for rejuvenation imbue it with symbolic potency.
"The snake is an exceptionally dynamic and mysterious creature in ancient Chinese tales and mythology, representing formidable power," Chu said. "This year's theme of 'slithering into spring' evokes the snake's fluid, revitalizing movement bridging into the new season."
A boy observes a snake-theme artifact at the ongoing exhibition at the Shanghai Museum. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]
Complementing the thematic exhibit, the Shanghai Museum also offers interactive educational programming to encourage visitors to learn about the displayed artifacts through gameplay.
"We hope this Spring Festival exhibition held in the Year of the Snake provides an opportunity for audiences to gain more understanding of snake culture," Chu added.
A visitor appreciates a bronze exhibit at the "Slithering into Spring: A Celebration of the Year of the Snake" at the Shanghai Museum. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]
The exhibition will be on free public view at the Shanghai Museum's No 3 Exhibition Gallery from Jan 14 to March 2.
