Museums can be loads of fun – set sail on a nautical adventure with your kids this summer

“When humankind hoists the sails of exploration, when dreams ride the wind and waves across the blue ocean, new sea routes connect unknown continents, painting a magnificent maritime panorama...” Every child dreams of sailing the seas, a way of reaching out to the unknown – even my two-year-old is full of endless ‘whys’ all day long. After we took him to see the ocean, he wouldn’t stop talking about the sea, big fish, huge ships... So Kaikai’s dad and I decided to take him to Lingang for a weekend. There’s the sea, and more importantly, the China Maritime Museum – an ocean of knowledge where kids can dive into the world of seafaring.

I started taking Kaikai to museums when he was just eight months old. Some parents think young children can’t understand the ‘adult world’, but they seriously underestimate these little minds. As long as you keep at it, they’ll surprise you with what they pick up. Museum learning should start early, letting history, science and culture into their lives and never dampening that passion for discovering the world.

Shanghai has plenty of museums, but you need ones that suit children – immersive and packed with interactive games. The China Maritime Museum is one of those. It’s the largest and highest-grade comprehensive maritime museum in the country, covering everything from maritime history and know-how to shipbuilding. It’s like a feast of the sea. Best of all, the hands-on exhibits turn dry facts into fun, making it perfect for exploring with kids.

We drove to the museum in the morning, about an hour from the city centre. It sits beside Dishui Lake in the Lingang New City of Nanhui, Pudong New Area. As we entered Lingang, the lush greenery, clean broad streets and peaceful waterfront gave it the feel of a tranquil eco-city.

‘Look, baby, the maritime museum!’ Our drowsy child suddenly perked up, pointing at a white building in the distance. ‘Sailboat!’ And yes, that’s the China Maritime Museum, a structure shaped like two white sails about to catch the wind.

The museum opens at 9:30 am sharp. We timed our arrival perfectly, knowing the exhibition space alone is 21,000 square metres. Even a quick walk-through takes a while with a toddler, and with countless artefacts, models and interactive games, we expected to spend a good half-day. We parked in the free car park, held Kaikai’s hand and climbed the steps to the entrance. His face lit up – a nautical adventure was about to begin! (Tip: if you have a stroller, take the lift from the car park straight to the second floor.)

China Maritime Museum – a child’s seafaring dream comes true

We’d booked tickets online in advance and reserved our visit through the ‘Shanghai Tour Code’. The museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary, so tickets are 40% off – fantastic value.

Inside, there’s a service counter right by the entrance where you can ask any questions.

Next to it is free luggage storage. Travellers from out of town can leave suitcases and large items. For parents, the best part? Free stroller rental – just a 200-yuan deposit saves you from carrying a tired child.

Behind the service desk is the exhibition area. Don’t rush in yet – grab a map and a guide booklet first. On both sides of the entrance you’ll find floor plans and leaflets. There are two types of guide: one for adults, and a more playful one for kids, with child-friendly details on how to explore the museum together.

There’s also a nursing room on the first floor, next to the children’s activity centre.

The museum has three floors, with the six main galleries on the first and second. The first floor houses the Maritime History Gallery, the Ship Gallery, the Seafarers’ Gallery, and the Fishing Boats and Fisheries special exhibition. The second floor has the Navigation and Ports Gallery, the Maritime Affairs and Safety Gallery (China Maritime Museum), the Military Navigation Gallery, and the Maritime Sports and Leisure area.

Each of the six main galleries has its own character, but the first thing to grab your attention is the Fuchuan in the central atrium. ‘Mum, big boat! Big boat!’

It’s one of the museum’s treasures. Standing right in front of this 30-metre wooden Fuchuan is breathtaking. Though not the biggest of its kind, it’s a classic example – sharp bow, wide stern, both ends curving up high, instantly recognisable.

The Fuchuan is one of the four great ancient Chinese ship types, a general term for the sharp-bottomed sea-going vessels of Fujian and Zhejiang. This one is a replica, but its craftsmanship is extraordinary. Built entirely by hand as a full-size working ship, it can actually sail, so calling it a museum treasure is no exaggeration.

We took the escalator down to the first floor to start there. ‘Mum, that’s an eye!’ Well, a child’s imagination is always rich – Kaikai pointed to an ornament on the Fuchuan and called it an eye. Which, to be fair, it did look like.

‘Well spotted,’ the guide said, picking up on this. ‘Out at sea, big fish eat little fish. Long ago, boats kept capsizing, so an old man thought small fish were attacking them. He said if we paint two eyes on the bow, the fish will think we’re a giant fish and leave us alone.’ So... it really was an ‘eye’! The guide’s story helped Kaikai understand the ‘ship’s eyes’, and also showed us the care the ancients put into building Fuchuan. It wasn’t just a vessel – it reflected the unique customs of the region. They believed ships had a spirit. Different boats needed different ‘eyes’, or ‘dragon eyes’. Eyes looking down meant a fishing boat, focused on the catch; eyes looking forward meant a merchant vessel, knowing its way – a profound meaning.

You can view the Fuchuan from a distance or get up close. Because of the pandemic, only 10 people can board at a time, so you need to queue. We were happy to wait to show Kaikai this ancient ‘giant’.

Soon it was our turn. We walked up the ramp to the main deck and got a close look at the peak of ancient Chinese shipbuilding.

On deck there’s a wheelhouse, inside which is a shrine to Mazu, the sea goddess, to bless everyone with a safe voyage.

Kaikai was fascinated by the big ship, peering around the deck, taking in all the traces of history.

【Maritime History Gallery】

After the Fuchuan, we began our tour properly with the Maritime History Gallery.

It’s on the eastern side of the first floor, showing the invention and evolution of Chinese maritime technology through three sections: ancient, modern and contemporary.

Here, both adults and kids get a systematic look at how Chinese seafaring developed.

The first things you see are the earliest watercraft – from floats made of gourds and animal skins, to dugout canoes, then plank-built boats. Things he’d seen in books suddenly appeared as models right in front of Kaikai, his eyes full of wonder.

A highlight is the Da Ming Hun Yi Tu (the Great Ming Amalgamated Map) and Zheng He’s voyages. The map was based on the journeys of Zheng He, a famous Ming dynasty navigator who led over 200 ships to more than 30 countries across South Asia and East Africa, creating this map. The fleet’s size, navigation technology and global influence were all world-class at the time.

In the ancient ship model section are dozens of exquisite models from the museum’s collection, showcasing the incredible shipbuilding skills and advanced maritime technology of ancient China.

Moving into the modern section, you’ll see the twists and turns of China’s recent maritime history and its achievements.

Children are always influenced by the museum atmosphere. Even my usually noisy boy quietened down, exploring all the strange and wonderful things before him.

Leaving the history gallery, we entered the Ship Gallery, which splits into ship structure & equipment and shipbuilding. A 1:6 scale high-definition cutaway model of a large modern freighter made the structure clear and easy to understand.

Inside the Ship Gallery there’s a 270-degree curved-screen cinema showing modern ship construction. With visitor limits, you usually need to queue for a while; lunchtime is less busy.

The Seafarers’ Gallery is all about real life, so it’s a hit with kids. It’s highly interactive – besides artefacts showing how sailors lived and worked, staff explain maritime knowledge and skills.

Here you can try the museum’s navigation simulator and feel what it’s like to be at the helm. The on-screen waves give you the sensation of being out at sea, and if you actually get to steer, it’s even better!

On the walls are various sailor’s knots that you could normally learn to tie, but this activity was paused due to the pandemic.

【Maritime Life Festival】

At first we were a bit disappointed – many of the interactive experiences like the 4D cinema, planetarium and children’s activity centre were closed because of the pandemic. But the museum always has surprises!

We were there during the Maritime Life Festival. Kaikai, who was starting to get tired, suddenly got a burst of energy when he saw this area. Once inside, he didn’t want to leave.

The Maritime Life Festival is the museum’s big summer event. It’s so packed with fun interactive activities that it draws crowds of children every year. This year, marking the museum’s 10th anniversary, it was even livelier.

The festival runs from 4 to 10 July. Note that the museum is closed on Monday 6 July – don’t turn up that day.

At the festival entrance, grab a stamp card. It lists all the games, all with a maritime theme. You collect a stamp for each one you do. There are over a dozen activities, but just six stamps are needed to claim a small gift and enter a lucky draw. Kaikai and I were so eager to finish and win that we forgot to keep the card as a souvenir!

There’s so much to do: DIY message-in-a-bottle and DIY boats let kids get creative and take their masterpieces home.

Children become totally absorbed, each one concentrating on their own project. The staff are gentle and friendly, guiding the kids and playing along with them.

There’s also an immersive Popeye game, a maritime maze, a mini maritime triathlon challenge and more – every single one keeps kids squealing with delight.

Though Kaikai didn’t get to be a captain in the Seafarers’ Gallery, here he discovered a remote-control electric boat that actually moves in water – way too cool. He grabbed the remote and started steering the little ship. For a little boy, it was utterly compelling.

On the hour, besides prize draws, there are sing-and-dance interactions with the children up on stage.

Kaikai went completely wild in there. It took a lot of persuasion to drag him out for lunch. The museum has a restaurant on the first floor, so we ate there.

After a good lunch, we stumbled upon a temporary exhibition just outside telling the story of Shanghai and the sea. The museum often holds special exhibitions that add extra highlights to the six permanent galleries.

Old Shanghai really is closely tied to the sea. Shanghai has long been called ‘Shanghai Tan’ (Shanghai Bund). Over 7,500 years ago, much of the area was still a vast ocean. Sediment from the Yangtze River built up along the shore, pushing the land further out to sea. After thousands of years of changes, the Shanghai we know today emerged.

The familiar Shiliupu Pier, the opening of Shanghai as a port, the city’s harbours, plus rickshaws, qipao dresses and other classic Shanghai elements – the exhibition hall was full of nostalgic charm.

As Shanghai locals, we have a deep attachment to these exhibits. Although they originated elsewhere, they absorbed so much Chinese character over time. Looking at them, you can almost see the vibrant old Shanghai come alive.

In the central hall on the first floor, there are also models of warships and aircraft carriers, right where everyone passes between floors.

The most famous is China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The model is so realistic that adults and children alike stop here for ages to admire the might of the nation’s navy.

We had thoroughly covered the ground floor, so we took the escalator to the second floor. The second floor focuses on modern maritime knowledge, including the Navigation and Ports Gallery, Maritime Affairs and Safety Gallery, Military Navigation Gallery, 4D cinema and planetarium. The Navigation and Ports Gallery uses tiny models to recreate real port scenes – anyone who has been to Yangshan Deep-Water Port will find it very familiar.

It also displays marine environments, navigational instruments and charts from past to present, plus many artefacts and objects relating to ports and waterways.

A huge globe grabs children’s attention – it’s our own Earth, two metres in diameter. On a globe, you can clearly see how vast the oceans are, covering about 71% of the planet.

Further on is the Military Navigation Gallery, split into naval development and warship knowledge. This section particularly fascinates men. The large-scale warship models, made by professional navy model makers, leave you marvelling at China’s rapid development and strength.

The Maritime Sports Gallery, on the eastern side of the second floor, displays sports equipment, plus items donated by Olympic champions and famous sailors.

The Maritime Affairs and Safety Gallery is on the western side, consisting of two separate sections.

If you have extra time, take the little one out to the waterside platform. The view is beautiful. Eagle-eyed visitors will notice that the outdoor lighthouse is almost an exact replica of the one inside, only larger – great fun.

Address: No. 197 Shengang Avenue, Lingang New City, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, near Dishui Lake. After 1 July 2020, ticket prices have been adjusted: adults 30 yuan; students with valid ID 15 yuan; seniors aged 60–69 with valid ID 10 yuan; seniors 70 and over free. Children aged 6 and under or under 1.4 metres (including 1.4 m) in height (must be accompanied by an adult) free.

Opening hours: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm (last entry 3:30 pm); closed Mondays, except public holidays. Transport: by bus – Longgang Express (Huanhuxi Sanlu Shengang Avenue stop), Sangang Special Line (Huanhuxi Sanlu Shengang Avenue stop), Shengang No.1 (Huanhuxi Erlu Shengang Avenue stop), Shengang No.3 (Huanhuxi Sanlu Shengang Avenue stop). By metro – Line 16 to Dishui Lake Station, then take Shengang No.1 inner circle bus (two stops) to Huanhuxi Erlu Shengang Avenue stop. By car – Outer Ring S20 (towards Pudong Airport) → switch to S2 Expressway (towards Donghai Bridge) → exit at Dishui Lake to China Maritime Museum.