Where to Go for a Two-Day One-Night Getaway with Kids in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai? Shanghai Sun Island is Perfect

Duration: 4 days Time: July Who: Family Activities: Food, Photography, Free Travel, Luxury The autho[...]

Duration: 4 days
Time: July
Who: Family
Activities: Food, Photography, Free Travel, Luxury

The author visited these places: Shanghai Sun Island, Shanghai Sun Island Resort Hotel, and the Vanilla Garden.
Published on 2021-07-29 13:20

Childhood is so fleeting, and I want to spend as much time with you as possible. It’s time for a weekend getaway with the kids for two days and one night. Where should we go? Intrigued by the beautiful pictures of Shanghai Sun Island that popped up on my phone, we decided to set off immediately. This time, we visited the Shanghai Sun Island Resort Hotel in Zhujiajiao. In my preconceived notion, Zhujiajiao’s ancient town is well-known, but I didn’t expect that in this quaint place, there would be a hidden island perfect for spending time with children.

**Accommodation: Explorer Family Villa**
If several families are traveling together, I highly recommend this place, the Explorer Family Villa. With white walls and wooden roof and edge lines, it has the feel of a Nordic wooden cabin. Living here is like living in a fairy tale world.

Each villa is equipped with two dedicated parking spaces in front of the door, so if you come by car, there’s no need to worry about not having a place to park or having to park far away. You can drive within the park, and if you don’t want to drive, there’s also a shuttle bus. Just one phone call and it will come to pick you up!

This villa is 190 square meters with a large space. Upon entering, you’ll find a large living room connected to the dining area, primarily in white and wood grain colors, creating a warm and clean atmosphere. The tall giraffe and deer stools add a lot of childlike fun to the living room. There’s also a small courtyard outside for taking a break, having tea, and chatting in the afternoon or after sunset, a great place for both adults and children to find their own comfort.

The dining room features a modern and stylish six-person marble long table, and it’s directly facing the children’s play area with a semi-circular hollow design, allowing you to observe the children’s play activities directly. This design is very thoughtful.

The children’s exclusive play area is a hidden playground inside the villa, with a linked rotating slide, a three-story high elastic climbing net, a Lego toy wall, a magic magnet wall, and brand colorful cartoon dolls. Children won’t be bored here for a whole day. Anmei loves playing with Lego and spent a long time by this wall, studying and innovating.

The living room is equipped with a pipe for children to climb and play, making the living room full of fun even for children. Anmei climbed back and forth in this pipe, very happy.

This villa has three rooms and three bathrooms. This is a standard room, and there is also one room with a large bed and one room with a tatami mat, which can meet the diverse needs of the guests. The room layout is also very light and comfortable, using many Nordic elements, such as elk, geometric patterns, and bright colors that don’t jump.

On the second floor, there are two rooms, one with a large bed and one with a tatami mat. This one is a large bed room, following the overall style, light and bright, youthful and lively. Each room is equipped with a bathroom, and this large bed room has a shower room and a bathtub, with a dry and wet separation design, and the transparent shower room makes the space look very large.

This tatami room is a duplex connecting to the stargazing attic on the third floor, and this room has the largest space. The room layout is the same as before, maintaining the consistent style. Here, there is a special preparation of children’s blue bathrobes, very cute. The glass railing of the duplex allows you to see the third floor at a glance, giving a sense of space.

Ascending the wooden staircase to the third floor, one discovers a secluded little world here, a place to hide one’s worries or to retreat from when feeling sad. It’s also an ideal spot to relax and temporarily escape the hustle and bustle. The third floor is equipped with a telescope for stargazing and constellation observation at night. Alternatively, one can project movies and enjoy a cozy viewing session together. The corners of the staircase also harbor surprises, much like a tree hollow, where children can playfully crawl into at any time.

**Entertainment: Small Farm Animals and Cartoon Figures**
When it comes to entertainment, who doesn’t love the small farm animals? Children, especially, are fond of them. At home, children often imitate the sounds of various small animals. When they actually see these animals, they are overjoyed, chasing after them and mimicking their**Welcome to the Enchanting Small Farm Experience**

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### The Charming Miniature Pigs

These small pet pigs are the masters of the farm, visible everywhere, wandering around, and following you for food, truly adorable. They are a delightful sight to behold.

### The Goats’ Greetings

Another owner of the small farm might be the goats, which extend their little heads and cry ‘baa’ whenever they see someone approaching, asking visitors for food.

### The Enthusiastic Piglets and Lambs

The piglets and lambs are too enthusiastic, always sniffing towards us with their noses, nudging, probably thinking we have food here. When they see we don’t, they turn and run away.

### Children’s Interaction with Animals

Children always want to touch the piglets but are somewhat afraid, tentatively reaching out to try, and when the piglet turns around, they are scared and hide in my arms. Here, children can get up close to small animals, which is rare for most city-grown children who don’t often see piglets and lambs. They can only come to the outdoors, to the farm, to see them.

### Daily Life of the Piglets

The bored piglets in the small farm probably spend their daily lives amusing tourists, racing, and the ever-unchanging eating and sleeping, which is quite comfortable.

### Exciting Pig Races

Every day, there are exciting pig races to participate in and bet on, with prizes for the correct guesses. The piglets run hard, and their daily food is not in vain. Which piglet will win? Come and cheer for your favorite piglet!

### Operating Hours

– **Monday to Thursday:** 10:30 to 11:00 and 13:30 to 14:00
– **Friday to Sunday:** 10:30 to 11:00, 13:30 to 14:00, and 15:30 to 16:00
*Subject to weather and other objective factors, actual opening hours may vary slightly.*

### Lambs’ Foraging Experience

Staff will regularly release the lambs from the enclosure to forage freely, which is when children can get up close to the lambs. They can purchase feed (hay) to feed the lambs, and at this time, as long as you have a bag of feed, you are the object of the lambs’ pursuit.

### Feeding Guidelines

It is recommended not to bring your own food to feed the small animals, as they have a fixed diet, which is conducive to their healthy growth.

### Play Facilities

There are also other play facilities in the small farm. Children love the slides, and as soon as they see them, their eyes light up, shouting ‘slide’ and running towards it, not willing to come down until they’ve played at least ten times.

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### The Four Seasons Cute DIY Workshop

Unexpectedly, such a small slide has brought her so much joy. The Four Seasons Cute DIY Workshop will launch DIY classes with different themes: ‘Making animal biscuits, festival-themed handicrafts, traditional seasonal pastries…’ This time, Sister An comes to experience making DIY biscuits. She can make biscuits in her favorite shapes by herself. The staff will also demonstrate and explain the production process on site. Use your imagination and make it by hand to cultivate children’s concentration and creativity while having fun. After making it, bake it and then it can be eaten. Isn’t it more delicious to eat biscuits made by oneself?

### DIY Workshop Hours

– **Sunday – Thursday:** 09:30 – 15:30
– **Friday – Saturday:** 09:30 – 17:30

Sister An is earnestly learning to roll out the dough and use molds to print out biscuits in her favorite shapes. She is very quiet and focused. I almost believe that you are not a naughty baby at ordinary times.

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### Beach Swimming Pool

If I didn’t say so, would you be able to tell that Sister An is coming to the swimming pool for the first time? This little girl is not afraid of water at all. On the contrary, she is extremely happy and keeps playing until the sun sets and is simply unwilling to leave.

This privately-owned beach hidden in the 2,500-mu island scenery of the Shanghai metropolis has fashionable amusement facilities such as wave pools, rainbow slides, and Zorb balls. You can also engage in various entertainment activities such as outdoor beach volleyball at the beach swimming pool.

### Pool Hours

– **June & September:** 09:00 – 16:30 (Monday to Thursday), 09:00 – 18:30 (Friday to Sunday)
– **July & August:** 09:00 – 18:30 (Monday to Thursday), 09:00 – 20:30 (Friday to Sunday)

Although she still refuses to step on the sand and always wants to be held, as soon as she touches the water, she runs away. She has a great time playing on the inflatable mat on the water, running here and there, drilling here and there. Even if she falls into the water, she is not afraid at all. She gets up by herself and laughs happily. She dares to play in the big wave pool too. Holding her own unicorn swimming ring, she happily kicks and steps on the water. How can one see that this child likes playing with water so much? Only her happy laughter can be heard. It seems that this place is the right choice. The wave pool can simulate waves. For those who want more excitement, they can go deeper. For our little children, don’t go on an adventure. It is suitable for older children. Sister An runs around in the water as if this is not her first time coming to the swimming pool. She completely ignores the gradually setting sun and forgets the time and is unwilling to leave no matter what. This beach swimming pool is very private. Surrounded by dense jungles, the inflatable amusement facilities are very suitable for young children.The water is not deep and can satisfy children’s desire for adventure. There are lounge chairs and sun umbrellas for rest by the beach. Taking a short break and basking in the sun are both excellent.

There are also slides suitable for older children. Here it is more exciting and fun. Brave children, come and challenge it quickly.

There is a beach supply station by the beach, selling drinks, snacks and swimming rings. If you didn’t bring them, you can also buy them here. The colorful swimming rings are really the representative colors of summer.

Entertainment Center
The entertainment center that will be officially opened soon has been experienced by Sister An on behalf of many children. It’s really fun.

The amusement project with the theme of a construction site allows children to be little construction workers here. Put on the safety helmet, wear the yellow vest, and start working! Place the bricks in the dump truck, transport the bricks, and start building a house! Anmei is still a bit too young, and the wheelbarrow is wobbly and unstable, but she is trying hard to maintain balance. Once the bricks are transferred, you can build a house, one brick at a time, just like stacking blocks, which is really interesting.

There are various types of construction vehicles here that can be driven. Anmei takes turns driving the excavator and the tractor. Today, you are the boss of the construction site! Switching from one vehicle to another, you can drive any vehicle on the construction site. The most impressive here is the remote-controlled excavator, surrounded by many consoles, controlling the excavator in the enclosure, and transporting sand. This is a very realistic experience. Children can control the joystick and buttons in their hands to make the excavator move and dig sand. Although Anmei is still a bit confused, this project is really good and worth experiencing. Anmei plays from one console to another, full of curiosity about everything.

On the other side of the entertainment center, there are bumper cars that all children love. Younger children can be accompanied by adults, while older children can drive themselves. The speed is very slow, and it is very safe for children to drive. Every car must be sat in, and this round little car is very cute.

Shanghai Sun Island Equestrian Club
There is also an equestrian club at Shanghai Sun Island, which is suitable for older children. Although Anmei has been shouting to ‘ride a horse,’ she can only watch from a distance, so grow up quickly and come back to learn horse riding then!

The Shanghai Sun Island Equestrian Club was established in 1997, with high-quality hardware facilities, professional horse protection, and an excellent coaching team. In 2018, after a comprehensive upgrade and renovation, the Sun Island Shanghai Equestrian Club was born anew, with a new 30 x 60-meter indoor training ground. The equestrian club now has more than 60 fine horses and currently has 5 international standard stables, including a saddle room, a horse warm water shower room, a horse shoeing room, a horse medical room, a horse infrared therapy area, and a saddle preparation area, and other horse welfare facilities.

Older children can have a horse-riding experience before deciding whether to learn horse riding. The coach will lead the horse and take you around to feel the experience of riding on horseback.

Food Chapter:
Sunshine Chinese Restaurant is located in the main building of the hotel lobby, built on an open-air platform with a full glass sunroom, spacious and bright, mainly featuring Shanghai-style cuisine. The outdoor terrace is adjacent to the flower and grass garden, with a pleasant view. The interior of the restaurant mainly has wooden tables, with a new Chinese simplicity.
Business hours: 11:00-14:00 (lunch) 17:00-21:00 (dinner)
The dishes are mostly local dishes. We ordered tender white-cut chicken, fragrant and delicious egg yolk tofu, and rice-accompanying sour soup beef, pickled vegetable shredded meat noodles, and a large bowl of white fungus soup. The food is delicious and satisfying.

Breakfast can be at Changmao Buffet Restaurant, located on the second floor of the hotel lobby. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery while tasting a rich breakfast. The breakfast is very rich, a combination of Chinese and Western styles, with a variety of types.
Business hours: 07:00-10:00

Sun Island is really suitable for taking children out for a walk, with food, accommodation, and entertainment. Children will find endless fun here. Although the two-day trip is not long, children have spent a happy weekend here, which is more important than anything else!