- Deanna Irizarry
- Naz Lim
Are you getting ready to play the role of a gracious host or just want to embark on your own Shanghai adventure? Shanghai Mamas has curated a collection of things to do to immerse you and your family in the city’s ambiance, iconic landmarks, and hidden gems.
In Part I, we’re featuring some of the best family-friendly tour and class recommendations from our community. Whether you’re seeking a glimpse into China’s historical past, craving a taste of its culinary delights, or yearning for panoramic views of its mesmerizing skyline, we’ve got you covered!
List of Providers
*Disclaimer: Shanghai Mamas and the authors do not take liability for the services provided by the listed acticity providers. If you have any questions, please contact the companies directly.
Arcade
Arcade was created in April 2020 in Shanghai. They offer cultural and historical outdoor experiences in Shanghai, for local people and visitors, for adults and kids. Arcade’s young and dynamic team is made up of French and Chinese members, all from the tourism industry. The team is always trying to innovate to offer amazing experiences to their guests. All of Arcade’s experiences are available in English, Chinese, and French.
Walking Tours, Mystery Hunts, Real-life Cluedos, Team Building Activities… They provide a wide variety of experiences to make more and more people understand Shanghai’s history and discover its hidden treasures in a fun and interactive way!
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“Kids are welcome to join all our public walking tours with an adult. We offer half price for kids aged 6 to 11 years old and kids aged 5 and under can join for free. We also organize upon request activities especially designed for kids like Treasure Hunts, Mystery Hunts, Street Art… We have different options available for kids aged 6-8 and 9-12 and for teenagers. For these special kids’ activities, parents don’t need to accompany their kids: our instructors will make sure they have fun and learn Shanghai’s history in a safe environment!”
Contact Clarisse at 13167027204 or follow Clarisse and Arcade on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
Cici’s Kitchen
Originally from the dumplings master forge in Shandong in Northern China, Cici has been living in Shanghai for the past 23 years, raising a family, and teaching homestyle Chinese cuisine in her cooking school. Her main classes are the Xiaolongbao and the “colorful dumplings” class, which is a rainbow dim sum in dazzling shapes and starburst colors. Cici offers intimate, personal classes for the newcomers to the art of dumplings and Shanghainese cuisine!
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“Yes, kids 5 years and older are welcome to join!”
Contact Cici at 18616286726 or follow Cici on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
6/F, 83 Changshu Lu, near Julu Lu
常熟路83号6楼, 近巨鹿路
Community Center Shanghai
Community Center Shanghai (CCS), an esteemed non-profit organization, has been empowering expats and locals alike since its establishment in 1998. With a mission to foster cultural integration, personal growth, and community engagement, CCS has become an invaluable resource and a vibrant hub of activities in the heart of the city.
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“At CCS, we understand that settling into a new environment can be both exciting and challenging. That’s why we have curated an extensive array of classes, tours, events, and counseling services to cater to the diverse needs and interests of our community members. With our three conveniently located centers in Pudong, Minhang, and downtown, CCS is always just a stone’s throw away from your doorstep.
Whether you wish to master the ancient art of tai chi, dive into the harmonious sounds of singing bowl workshops, or indulge in the flavors of China by joining our renowned cooking classes, CCS offers a wide range of family-friendly options.”
To learn more about their classes, events, and volunteer opportunities, visit their website at www.communitycentershanghai.com or follow CCS on WeChat.
Cycle China with Bato
For over 15 years, Cycle China has been running biking tours throughout China. They are known for the quality of their guides who have lots of in-depth knowledge, expertise and passion. Cycle China has served many local and international customers. Their routes are carefully planned and offer a variety of options:
-
Lake Tai Biking & Fruit Picking
-
Ancient Water Town Xitang One Day Cycle Tour
-
Shanghai Night Bike Ride
-
Shanghai Biking & Eating Tour
-
Clean Island Biking & Orange Picking
-
Fengjing Watertown & The Farmer’s Painting Village Bike Ride
-
Suzhou Creek Bike Ride
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“Most of the tours we have in Shanghai are kid-friendly. All the routes can be customized for families. We have bikes with kids’ seats at the back, tandem bikes and bikes for young children and teenagers. Kids who are over 3 years old can take the bike tours.”
Contact Bato at 86 13917071775 or follow Bato on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
Explore Beyond
Explore Beyond offers day trips in Shanghai and multiple day holidays to China’s south and southwest. Their Urban Explorations focus mostly on the lesser-known areas and stories beyond the former concessions. Explore Beyond’s Escapes to Guilin and Xiamen are meant as a break from urban life; they take care of all the logistics but provide you with a handbook and access to their 24/7 WeChat concierge for a more independent yet hassle-free experience. Lastly, their Journeys in Fujian & Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan are all-inclusive holidays: from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave, everything is taken care of by your personal Explorer (chauffeur, guide, assistant, babysit all-in-one) so you don’t have to worry about anything, and you only need to focus on enjoying quality family time.
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“Our trips are fit for all ages, and since we tailor all tours anyway, we can easily adjust to your (family’s) specific specifications. In Shanghai we have a trip aimed at the young ones in some of the metropolis’ last bits of untamed nature (think climbing, caving, riding bicycle, fishing etc.). In our other destinations we include kid-friendly activities (horse riding, Tibetan thangka painting, batik clothes dyeing, traditional shoe weaving, miniature tulou making etc.) and for the longer holidays, we limit time on the road (max. 4 hrs in the car, spread over the entire day), provide kid seats, can plan several nights in the same hotel (less (un)packing) and we usually have several options for meals. Our personal Explorers are parents themselves, so they try to involve kids as much as possible by adjusting the tour’s pace and make sure they get some attention too.”
Contact Explore Beyond at +86 181 0185 5007 or follow on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
Web: www.explorebeyondchina.com
Instagram: explorebeyondchina
Wechat: EBRefinedAdventures
Hikinglovers
Hikinglovers just reached 10 years in May. Their main business is hiking trips for expats in Shanghai, mostly weekend hiking trips near Shanghai and surrounding provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. For holidays, they also have long trips in all CHINA. Seasonly, they offer water trekking, biking, paddling, skiing, diving, snow mountain summiting trips and caving.
Hikinglovers also has a guesthouse that opened in August 2021 in Anhui for all to enjoy the quiet country lifestyle. The home-stay guesthouse offers a 25 x 5 metre outdoor swimming pool, paddling, biking, 500 metre square lawn, garden and pizza oven, accommodating 10 rooms which is good for a small private group.
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“Some easy chill hikes are kid-friendly, in our previous trips, sometimes parents bring their kids from 6-16 years old.”
Contact Hikinglovers on 14782036532, follow Silver or HikingLovers on WeChat or their Red Book (小红书) channel for upcoming tours, past trips and more information.
M2adventure
Founded in 2014 by an outdoor and adventure seeking couple, M2adventure is the most authentic outdoor travel agency in Shanghai. They organize awesome outdoor trips around China, as well as Tibet, and now overseas. If you want to hike up volcanoes in Indonesia, visit the grasslands in Inner Mongolia, see the lakes of Xinjiang or travel along the Silk Road, explore it all with M2adventure. Tours are conducted in English and Chinese, you can join a group or contact them to organise a private tour.
Do you offer any options that are kid-friendly?
“We offer many kid-friendly options such as;
-
Walking city tour: All ages
-
Biking & farm visit: 1years old +
-
Horse riding & farm visit: 3 years old + (can ride with the instructor)
-
Hot spring: 3 years old +
-
Kayaking: 5 years old+
-
Watersport: Teenagers
-
1 day hiking: Depends on the hike
-
Private tour (>3 days) all over China and SouthEast Asia, can be tailored to your needs”
Contact M2adventure on 13817480832 or follow on WeChat for upcoming tours, past trips and more information.
OKDealTrave
Founded in 2008, OKDealTravel is one of the leading expat travel agencies in Shanghai. They have offered over 200 tour routes for 30,000+ expats in China for more than 15 years now. From in-depth hiking in Xinjiang, epic journeys through the Silk Road, to immersive cultural experiences in the Tibetan Region, their tours are designed to take expats to every corner of China and Asia Pacific for off-the-beaten-path adventure away from the tourists.
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“Our trips are designed for all kinds of travelers. You’ll find trips that are suitable for couples, singles, families, pets, backpackers, luxury travelers, minority groups, etc.
Our shorter trips of one to three days near Shanghai are most popular among families with young kids from 0-18 years old. For example, a relaxing getaway to Gouqi Island, a fun and easy hiking in the mountains, a luxury nature resort trip by the lake and woods, are all ideal options for parents with young kids.”
Contact OKDealTravel on 15001791355, follow on WeChat (okdealtravelchina) or the website https://www.okdealtravelchina.com/ for upcoming tours, past trips and more information.
Shanghai Outing Club
Shanghai Outing Club allows all nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts living or visiting China, the opportunity to get out and explore the “off-beaten-path” places in various parts of China. Participants can get in touch with nature and local cultures, as well as meeting new people with the same interests in a relaxed atmosphere.
Their outings are mostly held on the weekends and over the national holidays in China. The destinations they select are always unique and not frequented by other tour groups in China. If you want to visit anywhere in China in your own time, they can also customize your trip to suit your needs.
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“We do offer some trips that are kid-friendly. It also depends on how fit the kids are. We have had kids as young as 4 yrs old join our trips before, and we can offer tailor-made trips to meet your family’s needs.”
Contact Shanghai Outing Club at 13816452502 or follow Fly or Shanghai Outing Club on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
UnTour
UnTour Food Tours is not your typical tourist experience. Their small, passionate team of food lovers have been taking guests off the beaten path to eat shoulder-to-shoulder with locals since 2010. Join them in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Hong Kong to discover China’s delicious food, explore authentic neighborhoods and learn the fascinating stories that make up 5,000 years of culinary history. In Shanghai, they offer local Chinese food tours for breakfast and dinner, as well as speakeasy and Koreatown tours. We hope you’re hungry!
Shanghai Mamas guests get 10% off all our tours with the promo code “Mamas”!
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“All of our tours in Shanghai are kid-friendly! We offer discounted tickets for young foodies 6-12. And if your little one is 0-5, they come along for free (although if they want to partake in the tastings, they will need to buy a kid’s ticket). Our routes are stroller-friendly, but do keep in mind that at some of our stops, we won’t have space for a stroller inside the restaurant, so we’ll leave it outside and our vendors will keep an eye on it for you!”
UnTour Food Tours answers all questions via their email info@untourfoodtours.com or their Customer Service WeChat (ID: UnTour).
WannaTravel
WanaTravel is a travel agency providing traveling services to foreigners living in China. Their mission is to offer a gateway for people who want to disconnect from city life or unleash their inner explorer with family and friends. They offer both one day trips (mostly hiking/cycling/horse riding/kayaking/rock climbing etc…) and multi-day trips to famous tourist attractions in China (like Yunnan/Guilin/Tibet/Xinjiang/Xian etc…).Tours are offered in English and Chinese. If you are looking for a slow pace tour, they offer yoga and meditation retreats or visit a Shaolin temple and grottoes. If you want to explore the nature surrounding Shanghai, they also offer seasonal trips such as plum blossom trekking, tea mountain hiking and fruit picking. The team also does off-the-beaten track hikes around China.
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“Almost all our trips are kid-friendly. For multi-day trips, even infants can attend, but for one day trips, we suggest kids over 8 years old join our trips.”
Contact WannaTravel on 17301729741 or follow on WeChat for upcoming tours, past trips and more information.
YEJO
Founded in 2009, YEJO aims to share the passion of life with an authentic, original and community spirit. YEJO is an Alternative & Authentic Life Experiences Creator to REFRESH, INSPIRE & EMPOWER the world from the true elements of life: Nature, Culture & Spirituality. They offer a range of activities from day hikes, horse riding, yoga, culture discovery to multi day immersive local exploration and horseback traverses. The team welcomes all to join the community with an accessible price and small traveling group. Tours are conducted in English and Chinese.
Do you offer any kid-friendly options?
“Most of our activities are kid-friendly. For normal hiking activities, we offer 0-2 years old free, 3-5 years old are half price. For most of the horseback traverses, we offer under 10 years old kids totally free if not riding a horse. For 5-6 days of traveling, we would be a great choice for the summer.”
Contact YEJO at 13301666580 or follow YEJO or yejojeff on WeChat for tour updates, past tours and more information.
We are always on the lookout for new writers!
If you’d like to share your travels, activities, reviews, or anything you think may be relevant for the Shanghai Mamas community, please get in touch with us at SHMamas@gmail.com. We would love to showcase more writers from our amazing community!
