Summer Vacation Kid-Friendly Escape! Ultimate Guide to Baoyan Paradise – Every Minute Worth the Price
Summer vacation is the season when kids can truly spread their wings. Since I proudly became a mom, I’ve also joined the ranks of kid-wrangling parents. Whenever I have a little free time, I always want to take my child out to explore. But this year, the weather in Shanghai has been a real challenge for us moms – either torrential rain or scorching heat.
So I dug out my secret list of kid-friendly spots. Hmm... it has to be indoors... and if it has water play, even better... and the more activities, the merrier! Yes, this is the one! Baoyan Paradise!
Baoyan Paradise is already a big name among parent groups, and I’d been wanting to try it for ages. There are many branches in Shanghai, but the flagship store is the one that really caught my eye, because it has a temperature-controlled water park. My little one absolutely loves playing in the water, and on such a hot summer day, there’s nothing better than splashing around.
Taking advantage of the summer break, we decided to just go for it! I bought tickets in advance through their mini program, which was a bit cheaper than buying at the door.
Baoyan Paradise opens at 9:30 a.m., and we arrived right on time. It turned out to be absolutely necessary to get there early, because there’s so much to do – a full five floors – and even a whole day didn’t feel like enough.
🚗 Getting There: Baoyan Paradise’s flagship store is at No. 3825, Dushi Road, Minhang District. Driving yourself is the most convenient option. The park has its own parking lot, with the first four hours free; after that, it’s 6 yuan per hour. If you’re not driving, you can take the metro to Xinzhuang Station, then grab a taxi – about a 10-minute ride.
🧳 What to Bring: Socks! Long pants!! Long sleeves!!! A special reminder: make sure your child wears long sleeves and long pants, not because it’s cold inside, but to prevent scrapes on the slides. Kids in short sleeves or shorts aren’t allowed on the slides. Everyone, adults and children, must wear socks to enter the play areas – it’s easy to forget when you’re wearing sandals in summer. Swimsuits! Towels! If you’re taking your child to the water park, you definitely need to have swimsuits and towels ready. For toddlers, don’t forget waterproof swim diapers. Floaties and goggles – bring them if you need them. If, like me, it’s your first visit, you might feel a bit lost. How big is Baoyan, how many floors are there, and how do you tackle it all? Well, if you don’t mind, let me – already planning my second visit – share my tips.
🏠 Park Layout: The flagship Baoyan Paradise is huge, with five floors in total, including both indoor and outdoor areas. First floor: Petting Zoo (11:00–18:00), Slide Park, and 5D, 7D, 9D cinemas. Second floor: Play Castle, Building Block Zone, Nail Salon, Arcade (10:30–18:00), Nursing Room, Birthday Party Room, Baking Classroom, and Restaurant. Third & fourth floors: Water Park. Fifth floor: Outdoor Adventure Zone, with a kids’ pony ride field, grass slide, pirate ship, carousel, and more.
When you spot the giant dinosaurs, you know you’ve arrived at Baoyan Paradise’s flagship store. After going through the routine – enter, mask up, scan the health code, temperature check, hand sanitizing – my child was finally off the leash and plunged into his own world of joy.
When we first got there, the Petting Zoo on the left wasn’t open yet. Different attractions have slightly different opening times; the Petting Zoo runs from 11:00 to 18:00, so we headed to the Slide Park on the first floor first. There’s stroller parking near the entrance. With kids, you always have bags and bundles – I highly recommend storing them. The storage lockers are right next to the Slide Park, costing 5 yuan per locker for a whole day, and you can open them as many times as you want.
Alright, light as a feather now – time to play with your child to the fullest!
First stop: Slide Park!
Before entering, you need to store your shoes – free of charge, just scan a QR code. Slide Park, as the name suggests, has all kinds of slides. There are ones suitable for toddlers and others for bigger kids, with different slopes for different age groups.
It’s really thoughtful for little ones: they’ve designed a double slide lane where parents and children can slide together. That way, even timid or very young kids can go up the two-story-high slide and share the joy of swooping down.
If you’re a big kid at heart, you can also try the viral attractions here: the 45-degree slide and the 90-degree slide. Yes, it’s all about that thrill!
Remember to dress your child in long sleeves, long pants, and socks. There are staff members at the slides who are very responsible. For safety reasons, kids not properly dressed aren’t allowed on the slides, as bare skin rubbing against the slide can easily cause injury. Next to the Slide Park are the 5D, 7D, and 9D cinemas, each with different age requirements. The 9D cinema requires kids to be at least five years old, while 5D is open for kids as young as three. Morning and afternoon schedules vary; a notice board at the cinema entrance will let you know the screening times so you can plan your visit.
After the Slide Park and a quick VR movie, it’s already past 11:00 a.m. – the Petting Zoo is now open!
Second stop: Petting Zoo
The Petting Zoo requires a separate ticket, but who can resist the cute charm of little animals? Here, you can get up close and personal with them.
Right at the entrance, I spotted two adorable alpacas! They are the celebrity animals here – always the stars of photo ops and feeding sessions.
Outside food is not allowed in the Petting Zoo. Don’t bring your own snacks to feed the animals. If you want to try feeding, you can buy food at the zoo entrance: fish food or carrots, 10 yuan per portion. Remember to put gloves on your child when petting or feeding the animals – it’s safer for both your kid and the animals. I bought a box of carrots for my little one, and thus began our feeding adventure.
The alpacas were super cute, standing taller than my son, with their big, innocent eyes. If I hadn’t held him back a bit, I think their adorable goofy faces would have tricked my son into giving them the entire box of carrots...
They kept stretching their necks, munching one bite after another, like bottomless pits, always looking like they’re never full.
On the other side, the little bunnies saw the carrots and came hopping over, crowding against the fence, bumping their round fluffy bottoms in a gentle scramble.
The marmot was also a master of cuteness. Once the viral meme king, here it was all docile, now and then popping its head up to check for treats. When tempted with food, it instantly dropped its demure act, hopping and bouncing with excitement.
Come on, guess what animal this is?
The animals in the Petting Zoo are all so fascinating for little ones. Creatures they’ve only seen in books come alive right before their eyes.
Hedgehogs, little squirrels, lizards, and all sorts of creatures from the jungle and underwater worlds... it’s yet another place where you can easily lose track of time.
After feeding the animals, it was time to feed ourselves. We chose to eat at the restaurant on the second floor. They serve pizza, rice dishes, burgers – you can also grab a convenient combo meal. The average cost is around 40–50 yuan per person. There’s a self-serve drink station right next to the ordering counter, which is handy. It would be perfect if they offered a wider selection of kids’ meals.
Many kids have the habit of an afternoon nap. Of course, at such a fun amusement park, most kids refuse to sleep, but some just can’t fight it – like my son, who dozed off mid-meal. Fortunately, Baoyan has a nursing room, also on the second floor. Unlike typical nursing rooms, this one has six cozy little beds for kids to nap in, but they’re very sought-after! When I carried him in, only the last bed was available. To create a sleepy atmosphere, the parents turned off the lights, and I ended up dozing off on a chair beside him...
Wait, wasn’t I supposed to do my nails? Baoyan’s flagship store has a nail salon just for moms. What a treat for us moms – and it’s free! Ever since having my baby, I rarely get to carve out time for myself. But here, you can.
Third stop: Building Block Zone and Play Castle
Once my little one woke up from his nap, it was time for more fun! The second floor has two more great areas for kids: a building block zone and a play castle.
Have you ever seen blocks bigger than your own body? Here, kids become movers and engineers, building city walls and their own little castles.
Inside the Play Castle, the combination of ball pits and slides makes kids never want to leave – climbing up and sliding down over and over.
Slides are Baoyan’s signature attraction, so you’ll find them in the Slide Park, Water Park, and even the Play Castle. What I appreciate most is that the slope design is very sensible. There’s always a gentle buffer before they reach the ground. And the staff keep a constant watch – because with a bunch of rowdy kids, when they get overexcited, all kinds of risky behavior pop up, and timely reminders are essential.
The arcade on the second floor is more suitable for older kids. This area requires extra payment, but you can pay per ride by scanning a QR code – no need to load a card. There’s also a free bumper car ride; the park announces it over the loudspeaker. Free and fun means it’s never quiet, so if you want to try it, head over early to wait in line.
There’s also a Birthday Party Room and a Baking Classroom on this floor. My child is still a bit too young, so we skipped the parent-child baking. Right now, his little head is probably full of thoughts about swimming, swimming, swimming! Yes, that’s exactly why we came!
Fourth stop: Temperature-Controlled Water Park
Take the elevator to the third floor. Right when you step out, there’s a swimsuit shop. There are three changing rooms: men’s, women’s, and family. Naturally, the family room is the busiest, with private stalls where parents and kids can shower and change together, but they’re limited, so you might need to wait. The changing area has lockers – scan a QR code to store your things, 10 yuan per locker. It’s pretty high-tech now; you can pay with facial recognition and open the locker multiple times during the day.
Many parents and kids come specifically for the water park. Shanghai has quite a few large water parks, but when it comes to being kid-friendly, Baoyan’s is truly unique. Both the water depth and temperature are just right for children.
The pool is temperature-controlled year-round, so even in winter, you can splash around to your heart’s content.
Swimming, all kinds of slides, adorable animal figures that spray water from their mouths, and a relaxing massage pool.
While there aren’t mega water rides, it does have the famous rainbow slide – colorful slides that deliver a double dose of height and speed.
Because the slide is tall, there are height requirements: the rainbow slide requires a minimum height of 1.2 meters, and the spiral slide needs 1 meter. If your child doesn’t meet those, no worries – there are plenty of little slides designed thoughtfully for young kids.
I strongly recommend hitting the water park first thing when you arrive. Many visitors start from the first floor and work their way up, so the water park gets most crowded in the afternoon. If you go from the top down, you can avoid the peak crowds.
Fifth stop: Outdoor Adventure Zone
The fifth floor is the outdoor adventure area. When we visited, it was raining, so many attractions weren’t open. The kids’ pony ride field, grass slide, pirate ship, carousel – we didn’t get to try any of them.
I could only take my little one to look at the big dinosaurs inside, travel back to the Jurassic world, and go on a little adventure through the tunnels.
Well, the things we missed will just have to wait for our second visit.
The reason I love Baoyan so much is that both kids and adults can find something to enjoy. It lets parents join in on their child’s world of play and grow together with them.
