Shopping malls may not be the ideal place to take kids to but some are home to family-friendly attractions and often offer many FREE fun things to do, especially at the designated ‘kids’ floors’. None do it better than the retail giant Grandview Mall in Tianhe with its super-interactive 5th Floor.

You don’t need to read Chinese to have fun in the various ‘fun zones’. You don’t need to pay for anything unless you wish to use the paid attractions, such as dinosaur rides or the sandpit. Sure, not all the equipment is in great condition but your child won’t even notice! They’ll be too overwhelmed and excited by the sheer amount of things they can do on this magical floor 🙂 Building with LEGO, drawing on a chalkboard, doing a science experiment, making music, learning about dinosaurs and the solar system, reading comics, sliding, climbing, jumping…I think we spent nearly two hours there and only left because we got hungry:)

On the same floor you can also find the typical softplay area, a gaming arcade and many stores with children’s goods, including a dedicated Ultraman store-you have been warned. Potentially, you could spend an entire day there, just on that floor, if you wished. Are there better indoor playgrounds/play spaces out there? Definitely but are they free? If you found a better quality, indoor, free play zones in other places let me know because I’d love to take my son there!

Aside from the amazingly fun 5/6th Floor, kids can also see many life-size, lifelike animal ‘statues’ up-close a couple of floors below. If not weren’t enough-check out those gigantic, hanging dinosaur skeletons! My child never gets tired of viewing those even though by now they know it’s all fake.

Edit: I have since discovered that in the ground floor toilet corridors, there are insect displays. The bugs are fake but it still makes for a fun, informative trip to the loo:)

In addition to the already mentioned FREE fun at Grandview Mall, kids can also witness shows and exhibitions from time to time, for instance, my son was mesmerised by the Ultraman and Transformers shows in the past, it’s just a matter of following Grandview Mall’s official Wechat account and keeping an eye on any announcements.

Info

Opening times: 10am-22

Address: Zhengjia Plaza(Grandview Mall), Tianhe Road, Tianhe District.

Getting there: Metro Line 3, Tiyu Xilu station, exit C (which leads to the back of TMALL-turn left, walk 5min past Parc Central till you reach the much quieter, back part of Grandview Mall) or Shipaiqiao station, exit A (walk through One Link mall and cross the street).

Parking: On site (pricey). It is cheaper to park in the café area behind Parc Central and walk 5min.

Age: All ages but 5/6th Floor is best suitable for kids under 7

Food: Too many options to mention! Pizza Hut has a small playground if you’re with a toddler.

!If you’d like to see some videos of this lovely place, head over to my Instagram. I also post on X and while my posts are about places and things to do in Guangzhou, they may not be related to kids .

I’d love to know about other kid-friendly places, which offer free fun!