(Photo provided by People's Daily)

Shanghai World Expo Museum, which has been under construction for the past three years, will open to the public for free starting May 1.

It will showcase the history of world expos since 1851 and examine what future expos might offer.

Eight permanent exhibition halls and three temporary halls are set up at the museum's 12,000-square-meter exhibition area.

Over 3,000 exhibits from the expos between 2010 and 2015 will be displayed at the permanent exhibition halls.

Models and vivid multimedia interactive installations will reproduce scene of past expos. The museum, spread out over 40,000 square meters, is six stories above ground and one story below ground. It takes at least 90 minutes to visit.

The museum will open from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday, except May 1. It will issue 4,000 reservation tickets through its website and WeChat account every day between May 1 and June 30.