Top family-friendly spots to visit in Shanghai

Plan Shanghai tour for your family? Contrary to its seeming hustle and bustle, Shanghai is still an easy city to visit with kids. You may do the internet search for Shanghai travel information on family vacation, or your may rely on your hotel or local travel agencies to tailor-make your family trip to Shanghai.

Of course, strolling around a metropolitan city like Shanghai tend to be less exciting than hiking the Great Wall of China, or cruising on the mighty Yangtze River. That’s why we bring you some ideas and recommendations about where to go and visit to make sure your family has a fun and safe experience in Shanghai.

Family safety in Shanghai

Before we bring you to the focus of our recommendations, we’d like to remind you of the kids or family safety in Shanghai. Shanghai is easy to navigate with convenient network of subway lines and the ubiquitous traffic signs in English. You won’t find language is an issue. Hotel staff, taxi drivers or tour guides are helpful and courteous.

Like Beijing, or any other cities in China, Shanghai has a low crime rate, a fairly safe city, especially for foreign travelers. The biggest problem will be it seems to be crowded everywhere and traffic condition is far less than developed countries. You should hold the hands of your children and keep an eye on them.

Local toilet culture

Local toilet culture may be quite different from that of your country. Squat toilets are still widely used in Shanghai. Shanghai’s public toilets, especially the tourist toilets are generally well maintained .

Most of the toilets are equipped with remote-sensor flushing, automatic hand drier and more. But most toilets do not provide toilet paper. Being sure to carry tissues at all times.

Virtual Tour of best activities for families and children in Shanghai.

Choose an amusement park to entertain your family

There are two large amusement parks in Shanghai – Happy Valley Amusement Park, Shanghai (上海欢乐谷）and Jiang Amusement Park (锦江乐园). The much-expected Shanghai Disneyland Resort （上海迪斯尼) .

Happy Valley Amusement Park, Shanghai (上海欢乐谷）
Shanghai Happy Valley is currently the largest, the most beautiful and the highest technology theme park in Shanghai, even in China. Covering an area of 90 Hectares and with an investment of more than 4 billion yuan, Shanghai Happy Valley is located in the core region of Sheshan National Tourism Resort in Songjiang District.

Address: No.888, Linhu Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai
Entrance Fee: CNY 200; CNY100 (for kids1.2-1.4m tall); Free for kids under 1.2m.
Opening Hours: 9:00-18:00
Telephone: (021) 33552222
Bus Routes: take Subway Line 9 from Xujiahui Station to Sheshan Station. Cross the overpass and find the free shuttle bus in orange color to the park directly

Jiang Amusement Park (锦江乐园）
Jinjiang Action Park provides visitors with the international advanced and domestic first-class entertainment experience. Accompanied by the consummate ancillary facilities such as shopping, dining and car service, Jinjiang Action Park is indeed a paradise for everyone.
Address: 201 Hongmei Road, Shanghai
Entrance Fee: CNY30 for 2 projects and CNY 60 for 6 projects
Opening Hours: 08:45-17:00
Telephone: 021-54204956
Bus Routes: Metro No.1 line, Buses No.50, 131, 704

Shanghai Disneyland Resort （上海迪斯尼)
The Shanghai Disney Resort is an upcoming theme park resort by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the first Disneyland in the mainland China.

Address: Chuansha Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

Learning about flora and fauna

Shanghai is a haven for those who love animals and take an interest in plants both local and international.

The Shanghai Botanical Garden (上海植物园)
Shanghai Botanical Garden is located in Xuhui District, about 12 km southwest of Shanghai city center. The garden covers an area of over 80 hectares. The garden is well known for its bonsai with wide collections of magnolias, roses, azaleas, peonies, conifers, maples, osmanthus and bamboo.

The garden has 3500 species of local regional flora from the Middle and Lower Yangtze River. It is the largest municipal botanic garden in China with prizes won in the Netherlands and Canada for plant displays.

Shanghai Zoo (上海动物园)
Shanghai Zoo is the main zoological garden in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The zoo houses and exhibits over 6,000 species of animals, among which are 600 Chinese animals that include the giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey, South China Tiger, hoopoe, black bulbul, great hornbills and bractian camels.

The zoo is constantly developing and improving the animal enclosures in order to provide better environments for the animals and a pleasurable experience for visitors.

Address: 2381 Hongqiao Road, Shanghai
Entrance Fee: 86-21-62687775
Opening Hours: 07:00-17:00 (Nov. to the next Feb.);
07:00-17:30 (March and April)
Telephone: 021-62687775
Bus Routes: take Buses No. 709, 945, 748, 911, 519…

Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (上海海洋水族馆）
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (SOA) is the biggest aquarium in Shanghai and one of the most beautiful ones in the world. The aquarium has a total built in area of 20,500 square meters. It is divided into 9 different thematic zones. The main highlights from these various zones include the Chinese sturgeon, Giant Salamander, Electric Eels, Spotted seals, Weedy Seadragons, Jellyfish, Sand Tiger Sharks… and many more!

Address: No. 1388 Lujiazui Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
Entrance Fee: CNY 135
Opening Hours: 9:00 – 18:00
Telephone: 86 21 58779988
Bus Routes: Buses No.81, 82, 85, 583, 774, 795, 798, 799, 870, 961, 971, 985, 992, 993, 996…

Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo
Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo

Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo （上海野生动物园)
Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo is located in XuanQiao Town of Nanhui District in Pudong New Area. In the walking area, you can enjoy the world rare animals such as white lion, white tiger, white kangaroo, giant panda, Chinese alligator and so on. In the small animal garden, you can hug the small animal,feed lovely monkey, and have the experience of keeper to see personally the miraculously generating.

Address: Highway 178, South Six, Xuanqiao Town, Nanhui District, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

Entrance Fee: CNY 100
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00 (March to November); 08;30-16:30 (December to February)
Telephone: 86 21 61180000
Bus Routes: Nanxin Special Line, Huisong Line, Tourism Bus at Shanghai Stadium…

Immersing yourself in the local museums

Shanghai has numerous museums with different themes. Choose the theme you are interested in and spend your cozy morning or afternoon roaming in the sea of knowledge.

Shanghai Children’s Museum (上海儿童博物馆)
Shanghai Kids Museum is an interactive children’s play land which mainly consists of Astronaut Hall, Ocean Navigation Hall, Toy Hall, Exhibition Hall, Global Cinema Hall and Multi-function Hall.

The exhibits are mostly in Chinese, with a good blend of fun and education. But still you can find the museum has enough to see and non-Chinese-speaking kids can have fun, too.

Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: 8:30 – 17:00
Add: 61 Songyuan Road, near Hongqiao Road
Tel: 020 – 6278-3130

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (上海科技馆)
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum covers an area of 68,000 square meters with an exhibition space of 65,500 square meters.

The museum has 13 main permanent exhibition halls and 4 science theaters. The theaters are oft-lauded as the largest science education cinemas in Asia with 10,000 annual films shown.

Entrance fees: 60 yuan ( adult ) and 30 yuan (children)
Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:15 ( Closed on Monday )
Add: 2000, Century Avenue, Pudong, Shanghai 世纪大道2000号

Shanghai Railway Museum (上海铁路博物馆)
Shanghai Railway Museum is housed a traditional building of British style. It was established in the former Shanghai station, now close to the current subway stations – Baoshan Road Station on Lines 3 and 4.

The museum has 1,300 square meters of outside exhibition space, and 3000 square meters in the four floors of the main buildings. Related articles, books and artifacts are on display, telling people the development of Shanghai’ railway. The museum is a place for education and science.

Entrance Fee: 10 yuan; 5 yuan (children)
Opening hours: 9:00 – 16:30 (closed in Monday and Sunday)
Add: 200, Tianmu East Road, Zhabei District 闸北区天目东路200号

Having your kids get to role-play

Widen your kids’ experience and knowledge by learning something about each occupation under the guidance of adult helpers at Eday Town.

Eday Town (星期8小镇)
Eday Town is a place for entertainment and play around real occupations. Kidtown features a variety of facilities such as: beauty parlor, fire station, hospital, police station, school, supermarket and theater; it also features the following free classes: Arts/Crafts, Cooking, Kids Yoga, Music/Movement and Story Time.

Entrance: 130 yuan
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 14:00 ( daily )
Add: 5/F, Zhongsheng World Mall, 5001 Dushi Lu, Shanghai 都市路5001号仲盛世界商城5楼.

Double-decker bus sightseeing
Double-decker bus sightseeing

Double-decker bus sightseeing for family fun
The open top decker city sightseeing tours allow you have a glimpse of Shanghai’s culture and city landscape in a relax and affordable way. The whole loop trip takes you around two and half hours.

The city sightseeing bus follows two routes: Line 1 through Pudong, and Line 2 through Puxi, with a total of 14 stops along the way. The bus links famous city attractions such as People’s Square, the Bund, Town God’s Temple, Huaihai Road and the Lujiazui Financial District. The city sightseeing bus operates 365 days a year with a system that allows passengers to embark and disembark as they please, at any number of shopping, entertainment or sightseeing locations.

The 24 hour ticket is valid for one person (with the option of an accompanying child under 1.4 metres in height), and includes one pair of earphones. The GPS-triggered audio tour comes with 8 language options: Chinese, English, Korean, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Japanese.

Hassle-free Shanghai Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for guided tours to Shanghai:

Shanghai Tour
Shanghai Day Tour
Shanghai Multi-Day Tour
Shanghai Evening Tour
Shanghai Cruise Port ( Transfer& Excursions )
Shanghai Beijing Tour
Shanghai Xian Tour
Shanghai Car Rental with Driver

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Top family-friendly spots to visit in Shanghai

Family safety in Shanghai

Local toilet culture

Virtual Tour of best activities for families and children in Shanghai.

Choose an amusement park to entertain your family

Learning about flora and fauna

Immersing yourself in the local museums

Having your kids get to role-play

Hassle-free Shanghai Guided Tours

Further Readings

Leave a Reply

Beijing Travel Tips

Family safety in Shanghai

Local toilet culture

Virtual Tour of best activities for families and children in Shanghai.

Choose an amusement park to entertain your family

Learning about flora and fauna

Immersing yourself in the local museums

Having your kids get to role-play

Hassle-free Shanghai Guided Tours

Further Readings

Leave a Reply

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