Shanghai Science and Technology Museum sent 12 specimen experts to inspect the dead whale found in Shanghai waters on Sunday.
The 22-meter-long baleen whale, spotted in Dazhi River, was brought to a port in Nanhui, in the Pudong New Area, by fishermen.
According to the experts, the whole specimen-making process will take at least two and a half years before it will be ready for public viewing.
Because the carcass is so big and hard to move, the experts have had equipment transported to the port to process the whale on site.
"We plan to work here for the first week," said Shan Kun, deputy director of the museum's specimen making center. "It will take at least two years to process the bones, while putting the bones on frames for support and display will take another six months."