Nanshan Museum is a local landmark and a large scale general museum. Construction began after the Nanshan District Government approved the construction of a state-owned museum in 2014. Nanshan Museum covers the history of Nanshan and related cultural research work. It is also responsible for the collection and research of archaeological relics excavated in the Nanshan District. It also focuses on the ancient maritime Silk Road and the collection and organization of historical relics in the Guangdong region.

Nanshan Museum covers a total surface area of 19,000 square metres. The building itself contains 36,000 square metres, and is currently the largest free standing museum in the Shenzhen area, and also one of the largest district (county) level museums nationwide. The west side of Nanshan Museum faces the Nanshan Library, its north faces the Nanshan Cultural Centre, both of which, combined with Nanshan Museum, comprise a vital arena for cultural discourse in Nanshan.

In 2019, with the approval of the district committee and the district government, Nantou Heritage City Museum, Tianhou Palace Museum and Nanshan Museum were merged into a new Nanshan Museum.