41 fantastic things to do with kids this summer in Shanghai

Love it or hate it, the ‘king of fruits’ is not something you can be dispassionate about. Its creamy and highly nutritious flesh is also infamously stinky. If fresh is too much, try it in pastry or ice cream. Certainly a conversation starter for the family.

These deep red fruits are eaten fresh, pickled, used in jam or even made into wine. They are sweet and a little tart with a unique texture, much like a strawberry.

Designed for children with special needs, Essential Learning Group’s (ELG) week-long courses are all about catering to the needs of individual students. Led by ELG’s team of educators and therapists, they offer a mix of hands-on activities like cooking, science experiments and music and movement that help kids to develop social skills, motor planning, communication and more. Call 5206 6273, email services@chinaelg.com or follow ‘elgchina’ on WeChat.

Ages: From three years old.

Dates: Weekly until July 31.

Price: 6,000RMB per week.

Got kids who love to dance? At this camp, your troupe will learn a combo of ballet, jazz, contemporary and hip hop. At the end of the week, participants will put on a mini-performance to show off new skills. To sign up, add ‘SCP-admin’ on WeChat.

Ages: Three-12 years old.

Dates: Weekly until August 21.

Price: 1,800RMB (half-day, 9am-midday); 3,600RMB (full day, 9am-4pm).

An all-round classic Chinese park, Zhongshan has requisite leafy walkways, ballroom dancers and tai chi groups. It’s also got plenty of grassy space to fly a kite, chuck a frisbee around or put a rug down and settle in. It often gets busy, but since many come to let their children go wild (or let loose themselves), no one minds a few more running around.

Easy to reach from most of downtown Shanghai (hop on Line 2 wherever you are and it won’t be long before you arrive), this huge Pudong park is a popular spot for families for good reason. It’s got all kinds of activities to help kids burn off some of that youthful energy – green spaces to run around in, pedal boats on the lake, even a running track. If you’re looking for some quiet time with little ones, take a relaxing stroll through the flower gardens.

Escape the big-city vibes for a day of bucolic bliss at this verdant forest park. Unlike many of its more central counterparts, you can do what you want on the grass (though there are designated kite-flying areas) and it’s got barbecue pits.

A green escape in the heart of downtown Shanghai, what Fuxing Park lacks in size it makes up for in character. The charming French-style park is usually abuzz with dancing ayis, musicians and tai chi groups. If you’re looking to picnic away from the action that surrounds the main lawn, head towards the (slightly quieter) northeastern corner of the park by the Marx and Engels statue and you’ll be able to base yourself just a short walk from the Yandang Lu cafés and convenience stores for extra supplies.

One for future naturalists, this impressive botanical garden in Songjiang district covers a whopping 200 hectares (or two million square metres) and houses over 9,000 species of plants. It’s the perfect place to soak up some natural beauty.

Cover serious ground cruising through Shanghai’s old neighbourhoods and hidden gems in a vintage Beijing Jeep with one of the city’s coolest tour companies, Shanghai Insiders. The guides are well-practised in recounting interesting tidbits and lesser-known history while winding through the city’s streets from sight to sight. They’ve also got child car seats if needed and can tailor itineraries for younger guests (kids below 12 need to be accompanied by at least one adult).

In a bid to help preserve and raise awareness of Shanghai’s vibrant past, heritage society Historic Shanghai has been piecing together and passing on stories from the city’s Golden Age and beyond for two decades. Hosting talks and walks that sprawl all over the city and cover everything from the revolutionaries who shaped Shanghai to the history behind the old lanes, they’re great for history-mad teens.

The customised tour specialists over at Bespoke Travel Company are putting on a special lineup of family-friendly activities to get your youngsters exploring the city and beyond this summer. Currently, there’s a DIY Bundside scavenger hunt in the works – a booklet that offers a guide to the neighbourhood with questions to answer and info to hunt down. They’re also planning a series of kid-friendly mini-breaks, including the Secret Suzhou day-trip that winds around the backstreets of the city with a local tour guide, as well as longer breaks like the Guilin Getaway that offers hiking, biking and more.

Organised chaos reigns at sprawling play paradise, Mini Mars. Found beneath sports bar Cages on the first floor of Jing’an Sports Centre, it’s got obstacle courses, foam pits, slides, dressing-up areas, circuit tracks... basically everything kids need to throw themselves about for a couple of action-packed hours. There’s also a less rambunctious baby zone for tots under two.

Kerry Hotel Pudong’s Adventure Zone is the sort of play area that makes you wish you were eight years old again. There’s a great jungle gym, ball pool, three fun slides and a range of various themed party rooms for kids to run riot in. A small café next door provides a more sedate spot to unwind for waiting parents. Pair it with brunch at The MEAT for free one-time entry.

A treat for parents and kids alike, Twinkle Kids is a high-end indoor play area and quality café (with actually decent coffee and food) that should definitely be on your hitlist. There are a few locations dotted across the city, including an expansive flagship in the Shanghai Centre and its ever-popular Xintiandi space (pictured). The play areas have bouncy castles, ball pits, mini mock supermarkets and kitchens, karaoke stages and so on.

If you’ve got little ones obsessed with Peppa and co, this 1,100 square-metre play area is a winner. It’s ten zones are set up to look like scenes from the programme – Peppa’s house, George’s fort, Grandpa Pig’s garden and the ‘mud puddle’ (a firm favourite). It’s also got a load of activities to keep kids entertained while teaching about responsibilities, like helping Mummy Pig with the shopping, delivering mail for Zoe Zebra or learning to recycle in Peppa’s kitchen.

This colossal museum is perhaps the best place in the city (and maybe even the country) for kids to discover all corners of the natural world. With interactive exhibits for young kids to more in-depth exhibitions for older ones, it houses fossil and taxidermy collections, panoramas on ancient agriculture, ethnic minorities’ traditional clothing and much more.

School might be out, but you can still put your kids’ (and your own) brains to the test at the immersive Museum of Optical Illusions. Here nothing is quite as it seems: rooms go topsy-turvy, heads float on platters, you can see your own face in kaleidoscopic patterns and more. There are also a load of puzzles to solve. Make sure your phone is fully charged – this one's all about the photo ops.

Part of the Shanghai Museum of Glass Park, KMoG is set up as a ‘glass city’. Upon entry, little explorers are given their own map so they can move about the space independently. A trip here is supposed to be an intuition-based experience, all in a supervised setting where touching something won’t end in tears.