Shanghai Songcheng with Kids: Dinosaur Adventure Guide

Duration: 2 days, Timing: July, Average Cost per Person: 500 yuan, Companion: Family, Activity: Free and Easy Weekend Trip. The author visited the following places: Huangpu River, Shanghai Shikumen, Lujiazui, Lupu Bridge. Published on July 22, 2021, at 20:34. On the banks of the Huangpu River, next to the Expo Hall, Songcheng has made its appearance in Shanghai! Since its inception, Shanghai Songcheng has shone brightly, instantly becoming a popular check-in spot and resonating throughout the express delivery area. It is as magical as the city itself, overturning the traditional Songcheng experience with its unpredictable nature, where various shows follow one after another, each reaching new heights. It is truly powerful, offering a plethora of entertaining activities that cater to all age groups. Exiting the Expo Avenue Station Exit 1 of the subway, you will see a unique container-style building ahead, which is Shanghai Songcheng. The scenic area is located in this 7-story building, offering numerous programs and performances. The outstanding spatial design here is well-executed, skillfully arranging tourists’ routes clearly, with different surprises on each floor. Let me first show you what activities are on each floor of Shanghai Songcheng, so you can play with a clear understanding and not feel like a headless fly. First Floor: Ghost Ship, Warfire, Costume Change Pavilion, Theater 2 (WA! Dinosaur), Theater 5 (Passionate Samba), Magic Street, Sky Curtain, Snack Plaza, Restaurant. Outdoors on the first floor: Colorful Forest, Forest Theater, Bird Show Theater (Forest Divine Bird), Music Square, Water Park. Second Floor: Songcheng Story Exhibition Hall, Abu Sister’s Story Hall, Starry Sky Restaurant. Third Floor: Art Exhibition Space, Variable Space. Fourth Floor: Theater 1, Theater 3 (Shanghai Everlasting Love Performance Venue), Costume Change Pavilion, Roots of Shenhu, Everlasting Love Street. Fifth Floor: Variable Space. Sixth Floor: Tilted House, Horizontal House, Invisibility House, VR Experience Hall (Moonlight Treasure Box), Storm Eye, Arabian Nights, Heavenly Street Market, Sky Club Bar. Seventh Floor Terrace: City in the Sky (Spirit of Water), Glass Observation Deck, Cliff Theater, Elf Valley, Fantasy Space, Slide, Liaozhai Horror. I kindly inform you that performances in Theater 1, Theater 3 (Shanghai Everlasting Love Performance Venue), Theater 2 (WA! Dinosaur), and Theater 5 (Passionate Samba) require tickets for entry, while the rest are unrestricted. In this world, if you ask the divine beasts what their favorite ancient animal is, they will definitely answer dinosaurs. Instead of spending the summer at home outwitting the divine beasts, it’s better to bring them to see the dinosaur show. Come to Theater 2 on the first floor, where ‘WA! Dinosaur’ is a parent-child show lasting 40 minutes. Since its premiere, it has become a must-visit place for parents and children, and it seems that not bringing your child here would make you an irresponsible parent.
A few of us entered the theater in advance. Unexpectedly, there were already many people sitting in the huge theater. It can be seen that children have long been looking forward to this dinosaur drama. As far as the eye can see in the theater, there are dinosaur elements of all sizes. No wonder it is praised as the ‘Oriental Jurassic’. Which child can resist the temptation of dinosaurs? I think none. ‘WA! Dinosaurs’ is performed several times a day at fixed times. We watched the show at 15:40. This performance starts from the doctor’s dinosaur laboratory. The doctor’s laboratory successfully revived the remains of dinosaurs into a dinosaur named ‘Abu’. Led by Abu, they traveled back to the Jurassic era through a time machine. Pterosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Velociraptors, one by one extremely realistic dinosaurs appeared on the stage. As soon as they appeared, the young audience’s adrenaline soared. After all, which child doesn’t like dinosaurs? ‘WA! Dinosaurs’ is a blockbuster high-tech and grand-produced stage play. The whole process is a collision of art and science. The entire performance is full of knowledge points and is a great tool for spoiling children. Let’s travel back to the Jurassic and accompany our children on a wonderful journey. Bring textbook knowledge to reality. Let children not be confined to books or classrooms. Increase knowledge in watching and it is not boring at all. After watching a stage play, knowledge is learned. ‘Abu falls down’ and ‘Protect dinosaur eggs’. The plot is full of twists and turns and very interesting. This huge egg is a dinosaur egg. Let the audience protect the dinosaur egg together and establish an ecological consciousness from an early age. When the lifelike ‘dinosaurs’ come to the aisle next to the audience seats, children rush to touch animals from 200 million years ago, making a lot of exclamations. There are several mysterious interactive sessions interspersed in the performance, each time unexpected, which delights the children. The theater is always filled with children’s laughter and ends this magical journey amid the hot songs and dances of dozens of dinosaurs. The 40-minute performance is so wonderful that children are reluctant to leave. In addition to ‘WA! Dinosaurs’, there are also performances such as ‘Shanghai Eternal Love’ and ‘Passionate Samba’. We will check in one by one next time. On the 1F, there is not only the parent-child show ‘WA! Dinosaurs’ I just introduced, but also the dinner show ‘Passionate Samba’ in Theater 5, Magic Street, Costume Changing Hall, Giant Sky Screen, ‘Ghost Ship’, ‘Flames’ and Snack Plaza. Walk in and pass through a ‘Time Corridor’. On both sides are the films screened in the Songcheng Theater. The correct way to open Shanghai Songcheng is to rent a cheongsam at the entrance and travel back to 1921 (the cheongsam with makeup and styling costs 158 yuan and can be worn until the park closes). Pass through the corridor and come to the Magic Snack Street. On both sides are ice cream shops, dessert shops, and crazy barbecue stalls. There are several of them and everything you want to eat is available.

There is a ‘supply and marketing cooperative’ on the Magic Street, selling the snacks we bought at cigarette and paper shops when we were young. There are also telephones, typewriters from the 1980s, and the electronic game consoles of that year. It’s not easy to find all these vanished daily necessities. There is also a green train. ‘Take’ the train from Shanghai to Harbin and take pictures of your travel time. While playing, people on the street suddenly gather around. It turns out that there is a bubble show. We can only blow small bubbles. Others can blow big bubbles and directly put children into bubbles. At the same time location, different times, different shows are performed. ‘Miracle’ is also performed here. To put it bluntly, it’s a magic show. Although I really want to decrypt it, I can’t see through it every time. It’s interesting and there is interaction. There are multiple shows every day, each lasting 15 minutes. Follow the official account of ‘Shanghai Songcheng’ to master the program schedule in real time. The Magic Street is truly magical. Looking up, you can see a huge sky curtain. Sometimes whales swim over your head, giving a bit of the feeling of an underwater world. Sometimes the light and shadow are whirling, and the beautiful scenes make your eyes not enough. In the evening, we come back here again. At this time, it has become a punk city. The actors of ‘Punk Flash Mob’ sway with the rock band. Characters with strange costumes are swimming around and catching people’s eyes. The actors shuttle on the street and interact closely with tourists, making people can’t help dancing with the music rhythm. As a result, it’s hard to tell which are actors and which are tourists. Finally, there is a grand carnival. You can’t miss this happy activity! On the first floor, there is also ‘Ghost Ship’. You can feel its strangeness from the name. Every ‘person’ here is so realistic that people don’t know whether it’s a real person playing a ‘ghost’ or a ghost has become a human. The ‘person’ lying down suddenly sits up. The corridor will fly out a ‘person’ with disheveled hair due to the induction of footsteps and almost face to face with you, definitely scaring you into screaming. Remember to run faster. Recommended index: 4 stars. Horror index: 4 stars. Having been to a haunted house is nothing to show off. The highlight is the horror restaurant. Having a big meal here is a scene that can go viral in minutes. Imagine that there are ghosts everywhere around you. Can you swallow your food? On the first floor, there is also ‘War’. It’s about war scenes. There are continuous gunfire and bombing sounds, giving people a feeling of being in a TV war drama. It’s suitable for taking pictures. Looking all the way, these people are all statues. When I pointed my camera at the female soldier and pressed the shutter, she actually spoke: ‘I am a person’, which shocked me. The wading pool outdoors on the first floor is a parent-child paradise. Many parents are playing with their children in the water and challenging water projects. The children are having a great time. Remember to bring a set of replacement clothes.
Here, spend 15 yuan to buy a cup of carrots and feed alpacas. Interact with them and have close contact with cute pets. Seeing them having so much fun that they forget their parents, a sense of happiness wells up in my heart. ‘Forest Divine Birds’ is also a program that cannot be missed for parent-child tours at Songcheng Shanghai. The performance venue is at the Bird Show Theater in the outdoor area on the first floor. There are various parrots here. These parrots are language experts and can speak any human language. They are truly like divine birds. They can play skateboarding, ride bicycles, lift dumbbells, show off ball skills, and play bowling. They are truly athletic champions. Parrots can also raise the national flag and pick up trash. They are even better than humans! The music square outdoors on the first floor is the Jingwu Arena during the day and there are martial arts performances. We missed it. Fortunately, we didn’t miss the water splashing activity. At night, the music square will hold a water splashing festival and make you completely wet. The little one is carrying a heavy weapon and is a tough character. Many little girls will be defeated by him. When you see someone you like, splash water on her. The more you splash, the more it means you like her. The 2nd floor is the Songcheng Story Exhibition Hall, study room, and restaurant. On the left side, there are several walls introducing the development history of Songcheng and the wall full of honors it has received. The artistic atmosphere here is very strong. The whole wall of bookshelves is the favorite photo spot for literary girls. Sister Abu’s story hall is also on the second floor. The teacher sister is telling stories to the children. The children are learning knowledge seriously while the parents are sitting leisurely on the side, resting, either scrolling through their phones or eating food. There are food stalls nearby. Theater 2 on the second floor is the 5D large-scale live-action experience drama ‘Earthquake’. It comprehensively and three-dimensionally reproduces the tragic situation of the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008 and the post-disaster rescue deeds. After the performance starts, latecomers enter directly from the first floor. Because the theater is terraced, the seats are arranged from the first floor to the second floor. There are entrance and exit gates on both the first and second floors. So it is correct to say that ‘Earthquake’ is on both the first and second floors. Before the performance starts, the director temporarily recruits 8 PLA soldiers, 8 firefighters, 8 nurses, and 15 civilians from the audience. What’s amazing is that these people recruited temporarily didn’t have a rehearsal and weren’t taught how to act. They completely follow the actors around them and actually succeed. The performance takes everyone to recall the pain of the Chinese people. The ground will shake and the seats will shake in coordination with the performance to experience the real situation of an earthquake. Because it is not a conventional seat, people over 70 years old and children under 6 years old should not sit in rows 2 to 15. In the face of natural disasters, the people of the whole country unite as one and work together to resist earthquakes. The PLA’s swift response is particularly shocking. Really, the audience is crying uncontrollably. There is also a water show. Thousands of tons of water pour down on the stage. I am sitting in the first row and the water mist splashes on me.
Highly recommended for families. The second floor boasts a starry sky restaurant, gathering a variety of world cuisines, including Shanghai-style stir-fry, spicy pots, fruits, and snacks, offering a wide selection. The dining area is spacious enough to accommodate thousands of diners. This restaurant also features an outdoor section where you can enjoy your meal while overlooking the Huangpu River. The third floor houses an art exhibition space and a versatile area, where a magical ventriloquism show is being performed, with a talking puppet gorilla. The fourth floor is home to Theatre 1, Theatre 3, the Eternal Love Street, the Modern Costume Pavilion, the Shanghai History Trace, a bar, and a terrace, attracting a large number of tourists. The main show ‘Eternal Love in Shanghai’ is performed here. Audiences seated from rows 1 to 16 can enter from the second floor, those from rows 17 to 36 from the third floor, and those from rows 37 and above from the fourth floor. During non-performance times, the ‘Hello! Chaplin’ show takes place at the entrance of the ‘Eternal Love in Shanghai’ theatre. The clown ‘Chaplin’ is very attractive to children, not only performing himself but also interacting with a few kids, giving away small gifts. Although he may not be the most handsome, the show is truly enjoyable. Next to the theatre is the ‘Shanghai History Trace’, a perfect place to visit while waiting in line. It includes a secret service bureau, various old Shanghai televisions, dance posters in front of old stone houses, and a riverside tavern. Those who love nostalgia can learn about these historical aspects. Remembering the ice cream truck from childhood, it would signal to pester mom, but in those days, her pockets were often empty. Back then, every night after we siblings fell asleep, mom would sit at this sewing machine, making clothes for us, working late into the night. The ‘Modern Costume Pavilion’ on the Eternal Love Street attracts many young girls and women, who choose from Hanfu, Qipao, and Western-style clothing to transform into fashionable Shanghai elites. The old Shanghai’s ten-mile foreign settlement, with its bright lights and a bourgeois lifestyle, has always been a trendsetter internationally. This young man appeared on CCTV, broadcasting the evening news. Is there any explosive news today? There is a terrace on the fourth floor, with a red chair sculpture, and another one on the first floor garden, both are iconic sculptures, you should also go and take a picture. The fifth floor is a versatile space, mainly for a parent-child carnival, hosting different programs at different times. The Dinosaur Sports Day is held at 12:10 and 17:15, each lasting 15 minutes, while the ‘Sister Abu Learns to Dance’ is at 15:10, 18:30, and 19:25, each lasting 8 minutes. We caught the Dinosaur Sports Day at 15:10, where mothers and sons (daughters) dressed in dinosaur costumes, played relay races, to see who runs the fastest.
The projects on the 6th floor are abundant. There are Theatre No. 6, Celestial Market Street, Arabian Nights, “Storm Eye”, “Moonlight Treasure Box” VR experience hall, “Crystal Ball” performance, slanting house, inverted house, etc. “Celestial Market Street” restores the world of One Thousand and One Nights. There are many products with Arabian tones. Shops full of exotic styles are opened in front of you. Handmade enamel artworks, Bohemian tableware, and so on are all available. It seems as if you have come to the Western Regions. Being in it and looking at the colorful products in front of you, you can’t help but have a feeling of walking into the Middle East and Arabia. If you see a commodity you like, hurry up and buy it. There is also a Happy Art Workshop on this floor. There is one session at 13:20 in the afternoon and 18:30 in the evening every day. Each session lasts for half an hour. You can take your child to experience it for free. There is a kaleidoscope hidden in a tunnel. It is very beautiful. Many people line up to enter and take photos that are not available in daily life. Next to the kaleidoscope is an archery hall. Let your child exercise arm strength and improve shooting accuracy. Hit the bullseye every time. Next time, go to the Northeast and hunt a few animals to take home and cook. Haha. The slanting house, inverted house, and invisible house are all on this floor. Experience an upside-down world. In the horizontal house, obviously you are standing, but the photo taken looks like you are lying on the bed. The 7th floor is the top terrace. It is a very fairytale, dreamy, and a bit thrilling floor. Here there are cliff concerts, Elf Valley, Frightening Liaozhai, Sky City, glass observation deck, slide, rattan bridge, etc. If you want to walk on the rattan bridge, come out from the bar on the 6th floor. This rattan bridge is deeply loved by children. Walking on the swaying rattan bridge, they are extremely happy. There is Elf Valley on the terrace. The huts of the Hobbits in New Zealand have been successfully replicated here. It will tell you the story of seven dwarfs. Influenced by the movie The Lord of the Rings, children all like this place very much. It is also a good place for parents to take their children for a stroll. Recommended index: 5 stars. “Frightening Liaozhai” is also a good place to scare babies. Although it is a small haunted house, it still scares the people who enter it a lot. However, after coming out of the haunted house, they are not afraid anymore and take pictures with ghosts one after another. Whether you are afraid or not is all a psychological problem. On one side of Elf Valley, there are also slides and rock climbing. Not only children but also many adults are playing. The terrace on the seventh floor is extremely large. Behind it are the Huangpu River and the “three-piece set” of Lujiazui. You can also have a close view of the Lupu Bridge. You must take a photo of your visit here with the landscape on both sides of the Huangpu River. If it is at night, it will be even more beautiful. There is a cliff concert at night. When we came up again after splashing water on the first floor, the concert was over. We missed a wonderful performance. Although we came at 11 am and left after 7 pm, there are still many programs that we missed. There are too many projects and we can’t take care of all of them. This Songcheng in Shanghai is like a huge blind box, constantly bringing surprises to the audience. It is a happy planet for children and adults.
Address: No. 1750, World Expo Avenue, Pudong New Area. With its prime location, it is conveniently accessible by taking the Metro Line 13. For those in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai areas, driving is also a convenient option!

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