With kids · Shanghai · China
Shanghai with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Legolas1024, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Shanghai works well with children thanks to clean, step-free Metro stations, big parks and plenty of indoor attractions for hot or rainy days. Lujiazui puts the aquarium and the Oriental Pearl Tower side by side, and Disneyland is an hour away by Metro. Top picks: Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium and Oriental Pearl Tower. Families usually base themselves in Lujiazui (Pudong).
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Lujiazui (Pudong)
- Rainy-day options
- 2
Best things to do with kids
Theme park · Pudong
1.Shanghai Disneyland
Opened in 2016, the park has the largest Disney castle and a Zootopia land, with many rides adapted for Chinese audiences. It sits at the end of Metro line 11, about an hour from People's Square.
Weekdays outside Chinese school holidays have far shorter queues; download the official app to see waiting times.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Tickets are date-specific and priced by demand; buy ahead for weekends and holidays.
- Kids
- Iconic
- After dark
Aquarium · Lujiazui (Pudong)
2.Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Next to the Oriental Pearl Tower, the aquarium follows the waters of different continents and includes a long underwater tunnel with sharks and rays and a section on Yangtze River species.
Visit on a weekday morning, when the tunnel is less crowded with school groups.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Landmark · Lujiazui (Pudong)
3.Oriental Pearl Tower
The 468-metre TV tower with its pink spheres opened in 1994 and became the symbol of Pudong's rise. Visitors ride to observation levels that include a glass-floored walkway, and the base holds a museum of old Shanghai street scenes that children enjoy.
Combine it with the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium next door for a family morning in Lujiazui.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
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Museum · Jing'an
4.Shanghai Natural History Museum
Housed in a spiralling modern building in Jing'an Sculpture Park, the museum has dinosaur skeletons, a hall of African animals and hands-on displays on evolution and ecosystems. It is one of the city's best rainy-day options for families.
Book a weekday visit; school-holiday weekends are very busy.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Tickets are sold by timed slot and can sell out at weekends and in school holidays.
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Experience · The Bund and People's Square
5.Huangpu River cruise
Sightseeing boats leave from piers on the Bund and in Lujiazui for loops of about 40–60 minutes past the Bund's heritage façades and the Pudong towers. Evening sailings, when both banks are lit up, are the most popular.
For a cheap version, take the public ferry between the Bund side and Lujiazui; it crosses in a few minutes for a couple of yuan.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- After dark
- Views
- Couples
- Kids
- Iconic
Park · Former French Concession
6.Fuxing Park
Laid out by the French in the early 20th century, Fuxing Park is where retired Shanghainese gather for ballroom dancing, tai chi, card games and choir singing. Its plane-tree avenues and rose garden make it a good break on a French Concession walk.
Go before 9am to see the park at its liveliest, when dancers and tai chi groups fill the paths.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Kids
Rainy-day ideas
- Shanghai Natural History Museum — Book a weekday visit; school-holiday weekends are very busy.
- Shanghai Ocean Aquarium — Visit on a weekday morning, when the tunnel is less crowded with school groups.
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for luxury, families and first-timers
Lujiazui (Pudong)
Lujiazui holds the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Shanghai Tower within a few hundred metres, plus the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium and big hotels with high-floor views back to the Bund. It feels corporate, but it is ideal for skyline rooms and quick Metro line 2 access to Pudong Airport.
- Good
- High-floor views over the Huangpu; Close to the observation decks and aquarium; Direct Metro to Pudong Airport
- Watch out
- Little street life after office hours; Wide roads and long walks between towers
- Nearby
- Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Family travel tips
- Children under 1.3 metres tall usually ride the Metro free when accompanied by an adult; many attractions price by height rather than age.
- Plan summer days around indoor sights between late morning and late afternoon to avoid the heat.
- Avoid Disneyland and the Bund during national holidays, when queues and crowds are hardest with young children.
- Supermarkets and pharmacies stock familiar baby products; bring any specific medicines from home.
- Lujiazui and Jing'an have large malls with play areas, baby rooms and food courts for easy breaks.
Day trips for families
- Zhujiajiao (About 1 hour by Metro) — A canal town within Shanghai's Qingpu district, with stone bridges, including the five-arched Fangsheng Bridge, waterside teahouses and boat rides.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–May and October–November. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Shanghai good for kids?
Shanghai works well with children thanks to clean, step-free Metro stations, big parks and plenty of indoor attractions for hot or rainy days. Lujiazui puts the aquarium and the Oriental Pearl Tower side by side, and Disneyland is an hour away by Metro.
+What can kids do in Shanghai?
Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Natural History Museum and Huangpu River cruise.
+Where should families stay in Shanghai?
Lujiazui (Pudong): Skyscrapers, observation decks and riverside promenades on the east bank.