Whether it be raining, cold, hot or when being outside isn’t desirable, here’s our list of indoor playgrounds around the city! Looking for a place to hold a kid’s birthday party? These places can also be a great party venue, as well as a meeting spot with other families. The hardest part of your visit to these play centres may be getting the kids to leave!
(Images obtained by authors or from Dianping.)
Table of Content
Places We Visited
Tip: You’ll pay less for each entry if you buy a membership or multi-entry ticket, but make sure you use them asap and go often! Alternatively, look out for any special deals on apps such as Dianping. These places often have special promotions for tickets, but with conditions such as entry after certain times or on certain days.
Adventure zone (浦东嘉里大酒店.儿童探险乐园)
Location: Jinqiao
Age range: 1 – 16 years old.
Price: starting from 200 rmb for 1 child.
Facilities:
Great place for teenagers or younger kids who like giant slides, mazes and obstacle courses. This place will keep them energetically entertained! They also have separate sections suitable for younger kids. Also a great venue for birthday parties or large gatherings. The Awesome Kids Academy (Putuo) playground was designed by the same designer and is also a great place for play and parties.
Holiday Park (H-Park, 活力街)
Location: Changning.
Age range: Over 1.2m – 18 years old.
Price: starting from 280 rmb for 1 big 1 small entry.
Facilities:
A great place for kids that like to climb and aren’t afraid of heights. You can climb up and enjoy a mini-flying fox/zipline or bounce on trampolines and slide down giant slides.
Meland Club
Location: Hongkou, Hongqiao, Putuo.
Age range: 7 months – 12 years old.
Price: starting from 268 rmb for 1 big and 1 small.
Facilities:
A wonderland for young kids, the place is designed as a mini-world. Each location is similar, with a dress-up room, construction, large ball pit, slides and a restaurant on site. Great for a whole day’s fun!
Mini Mars
Location: Jing’an, Jinqiao
Age range: 12 months – 6 years old.
Price: starting from 268 rmb for 1 big and 1 small.
Facilities:
A great place for smaller kids or even babies that can crawl or are starting to walk (there’s a dedicated play space only for them). Has a large ball pit, slide, “sandpit,” dress-ups and a mini-world which includes restaurants and a grocery store.
Neobio Museum
Location: Xuhui
Age range: 12 months – 6 years old.
Price: starting from 200 rmb for 1 big and 1 small.
Facilities:
The Neobio Museum is not just a fun playground, but a whole laboratory full of immersive experiments! Parents and children can come here to see and learn about physics, robotic engineering, medicine, nutrition, musical instruments, space and so much more. Everything is well-designed to be fun, while also captivating kids and adults with the magic of science! (There are also other Neobio locations in Hongqiao and Pudong with similar fun.)
Space zoom (贝纵家庭体验中心)
Location: Baoshan, Hongqiao, Jinqiao
Age range: 12 months – 6 years old.
Price: starting from 236 rmb for 1 big and 1 small.
Facilities:
Great place for smaller kids that love slides, bounce castles, ball pits and cars (race track and car wash). Has a restaurant on site where birthdays can be celebrated.
Other Places for Young Kids:
Thomas and Friends
Location: Century link mall and River Mall, Pudong
Perfect stop after a day of shopping to let the kids explore the slides, ball pits, trampolines and sand pits. Parents can join their kids in the fun or sit outside to relax.
Lilliput
Location: Hongqiao and Xuhui
Mini restaurants, merry-go-round and grocery stores for the kids to enjoy while a “real” restaurant is on site for the parents to enjoy.
Your nearest mall
A lot of malls have a small or large indoor playground that you can pay per use (some have a time limit, others charge per day with multi-entry). Next time, when you are at your nearest mall, have a look around to see what activities the kids can do!
Other Places for Older Kids:
Cages (Jing’an)
A sports bar with batting cages, arcade games and a small playground for young kids.
Jump360 (Hongqiao)
Large indoor trampoline park with slides and ball/foam pits.
Party King (Huangpu)
Archery, video games, pool, bowling, darts and arcade games suitable for much older kids.
About the Authors
Evelyn is from Mexico and now calls the vibrant French Concession home, where she resides with her husband Oliver, from Germany, and their two children, Eline and Enzo. She has a big passion for health and wellness, loves spending quality time with her family, and is always up for an adventure, whether it’s traveling somewhere new or uncovering hidden gems around the city. A lover of caffeine and wine, Evelyn enjoys relaxed chats, lively evenings with friends, and making the most of every moment.
Originally from Siberia, Ollie was always passionate about seeing other countries. Her family moved to a western part of Russia and she had a chance to travel around Europe. When Ollie met her husband, they decided to discover Asia and came to Shanghai together. She’s been living in Shanghai for 9 years now and absolutely loves it! Ollie is fond of foreign languages, learning about new cultures, shooting short videos and dancing. In her free time, you can find her learning Chinese on her own or walking around the city and taking lots of videos. She is developing her personal blog on Instagram about her life on maternity leave as @shanghaimomcation. Follow her to see more of her journey.
Originally from Siberia, Ollie was always passionate about seeing other countries. Her family moved to a western part of Russia and she had a chance to travel around Europe. When Ollie met her husband, they decided to discover Asia and came to Shanghai together. She’s been living in Shanghai for 9 years now and absolutely loves it! Ollie is fond of foreign languages, learning about new cultures, shooting short videos and dancing. In her free time, you can find her learning Chinese on her own or walking around the city and taking lots of videos. She is developing her personal blog on Instagram about her life on maternity leave as @shanghaimomcation. Follow her to see more of her journey.
Naz grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and moved to Shanghai to pursue her dreams of becoming a scientist. She has lived in Shanghai for nearly 10 years and is passionate about STEM, pets, Chinese culture and finding things to do in the city she lives in. Her family currently consists of adopted dog George, daughter Zoe and her husband Simon. In her spare time, you can find Naz reading, writing, drinking tea, practising yoga, trying new desserts or scootering around the city seeing friends.