Having Fun at Shanghai Grand World

Shanghai Grand World is the amusement park that holds the fondest childhood memories for Shanghainese people, reflecting the city’s cultural evolution and once serving as an iconic landmark. Dream back to the sleepless city and experience this old Shanghai amusement park from a different era. The Grand World Entertainment Center sits at the intersection of Xizang Road and Yan’an Road. The Grand World building has a distinctive architectural style, formed by a multi-tiered hexagonal cream-colored spire supported by 12 columns.

Built in 1917, it was founded and operated by the prominent Shanghai businessman Huang Chujiu. In 1930, it passed to the control of Huang Jinrong, the Green Gang boss of Shanghai, and focused on staging traditional operas from across the country. It gained great popularity, earned widespread fame, and attracted a steady stream of visitors, becoming the largest amusement park in the Far East at the time. In addition to over a dozen types of opera performances each day, Grand World’s most distinctive feature was the 'haha mirrors' — twelve large mirrors that stretch, shrink, fatten, or thin you into all sorts of comical shapes, provoking hearty laughter, hence the name 'haha mirrors'.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Grand World was briefly renamed 'Shanghai People’s Amusement Park' before its original name was restored later. In 1974, it became the 'Shanghai Youth Palace.' In early 1987, Grand World was revived once again, now housing performance theaters, a concert hall, a Guinness hall, a cinema, video rooms, game arcades, a Magic World, a maze, a ballroom, KTV, karaoke, video tea lounges, a roller skating rink, and newly added Shanghai specialty snack corridors, restaurants, and boutique shops — a comprehensive entertainment center combining fun, live shows, sightseeing, exhibitions, contests, and cuisine.

The total floor area of Grand World is 16,800 square meters. The main building is composed of three four-story structures linked together, each floor divided into separate spaces, and each space has its own unique offerings.

The moment you step through the entrance, childhood scenes come flooding back. The 12 haha mirrors are still in their old spot, and visitors young and old all feel transported back to their childhood. The warmth and laughter shared by generations of Shanghainese people are reflected right there in the mirrors.

As a classic memory of Grand World, these haha mirrors will turn over 100 years old next year.

The first-floor corridor — none of these venues were open when we visited.

The atrium corridors and the grand stage create a unique architectural character.

The newly built atrium corridors still wind and crisscross, connecting the upper and lower levels. From the corridors, you can directly watch performances on the classic grand stage.

The renovated grand stage meticulously recreates the old poster style. Traditional cultural programs like acrobatics, quyi (Chinese folk art forms), song and dance, and group performances will be staged here in rotation.

The open-air grand stage screen keeps playing content even when there are no live performances.

On the first-floor plaza, there are also the 'Exquisite Craft Pavilion' and the 'Fortune-Touching Pavilion,' offering immersive traditional cultural experiences. Unfortunately, they were not open when we visited.

On the second floor, you’ll find the Opera Teahouse, the Interactive Intangible Cultural Heritage Pavilion, and the 'ICH Guardian Pavilion.'

The second-floor corridor is hung with lanterns featuring intangible cultural heritage motifs, making it a great spot for photos.

These beautiful lanterns exude a warm and gentle charm.

The 'ICH Guardian Pavilion' displays a curated selection of intangible cultural heritage items in showcase windows around the room. Through a combination of physical exhibits and explanatory texts, it presents ICH resources and the achievements in their preservation and inheritance over recent years.

Introductions to qipao and Huang Daopo’s weaving techniques.

24 solar terms pankou (Chinese knotted buttons)

Dazi embroidery — gourd vase

Embroidery — 'Gazing at the Moon'

Embroidery — 'Jiangnan Water Town'

On the third floor, the Spacetime Classroom displays once-popular trinkets that have now become antiques.

The third-floor corridor is quite distinctive. There are several venues here; some were too dark for decent photos.

Beautiful stained-glass windows and doors

The Grand World Newspaper — the publication that previewed the many opera performances when Grand World was first founded, now recreated as a popular Instagram-worthy spot.

The classic grand stage, newly refurbished, faithfully reproduces the old poster styles.

The Amusement World, also renovated, has taken the most iconic games from bygone days and given them new ways to play and new experiences, helping you rediscover childhood memories.

Magic cabinets — rows of densely packed cabinets displaying a hundred years of physical toys. Which one was your favorite as a child? Be careful not to accidentally give away your age!

The Mechanical Horse Racing — a former must-see at Grand World that was hugely popular with fashionable Shanghai ladies. Sitting gracefully sidesaddle in a qipao, it perfectly combined urban sophistication with a hint of Wild West flair.

Even an 86-year-old man can’t resist reliving his childhood.

Image Maze uses a blend of art and technology to recreate the grand performance atmosphere of Grand World — 'all around, all the time.' Famous masters of Peking opera, Kunqu opera, Yue opera, Shanghai opera, and farcical skits appear across time and space, letting you wander through and appreciate the beauty of traditional opera up close.

Hall C: The Song and Dance Era — here, the music never ends and the fashions are endless. The charm of Shanghai is on full display, capturing the allure of Haipai (Shanghai-style) culture.

Intangible cultural heritage displays: sugar blowing, dough figurines, sugar painting — so many fun interactive ICH activities that bring back childhood memories. You can’t help but marvel at the artisans’ exquisite skills.

The ICH-themed area, steeped in Chinese aesthetics, is incredibly photogenic and perfect for those Instagram moments.

An entire glass wall covered with cartoon dolls.

Even the seating area here is made of flower-drum-shaped tables and chairs, which not only offer a place to rest but also serve as a drum set for kids to bang on for fun.

'Encounter 1978' recreates the Shanghai lifestyle of yesteryear, bringing back the scenes of the 1970s and 80s.

Are these the familiar memories and scenes from your childhood?

Narrow lanes (longtang) and public call telephones.

Old houses and laundry hung out to dry.

Interior layouts, furniture, and appliances.

Articulated buses ('dragon buses') running all over the streets, the rush-hour crush a daily peak. If you can’t squeeze on, please line up; tomorrow you’ll need to head out even earlier.

Looking out from the bus at the scenery outside.

Bus tickets and sightseeing coupons.

Haipai IP brands, famous in China and abroad.

Zhonghua brand pencils, pencil leads, and ink.

Fantasy Kaleidoscope — a century of dramatic changes, Grand World is like a giant kaleidoscope, dazzling with myriad colors and shifting patterns.

Walking inside feels like stepping into a magical space.

Strolling around, admiring various ICH works, experiencing the fruits of technological progress, sitting in the theater and enjoying the performers’ unique flair, gathering all kinds of material — a leisurely morning like this is truly rewarding!

The ICH Food City is temporarily closed due to the pandemic, so you can satisfy your cravings at the nearby Yunnan South Road food street instead.

Ticket price: an adult ticket is 60 yuan. You can purchase discounted tickets online for as low as 19.9 yuan per person.