Your kids will love the bright orange, gigantic spiral staircase, dreamy interactive displays and a funky climbing wall.

At first glance, this large yet hidden building at the back of Meihuayuan area, next to a metro construction site, doesn’t seem particularly child-friendly or attractive. If I’m honest, it never even crossed my mind to check it out until a colleague mentioned a great, authentic pizza place there. The hopeless foodie that I am, I persuaded my husband to drive there specifically to try that pizza and we ended up really liking the place!

Why is it suitable for kids?

Just have a look at this foyer! There’s no mistaking the concept of this place-it is immediately clear that it is the home base for creative minds. Sadly, despite it being open for a while, the place is half-empty, perhaps due to its location, BUT the businesses that do operate there are definitely worth checking out with kids!

As soon as we saw this fun-looking climbing wall, which offers proper lessons with professional instructors, we knew we wanted our son to try it! It is located in B1 part of the building, next to a swimming pool, opposite a very chilled cafe, surrounded by art pieces.

I really value shopping, cultural or public spaces, like some metro stations in Guangzhou, which give visitors the chance to see art for free. My son was curious about the strange dolls you see in the image above but what he did not realise was that they were made by disabled youth. VLAB is home to a variety of social and community projects. When we walked around, we could see the open space that belongs to the organisation running art projects for the disabled, a small puppet theatre for kids and posters advertising over 200 wellbeing experts about to run workshops there in December, from music therapy to yoga.

I would love for us to check out one of the theatre performances one day. Judging by the rehearsal, it’s a very casual, low-key kind of art, perfect for younger kids.

Those with older kids might find the gaming salon/shop more appealing. This isn’t just any dark and dingy gaming area but one that is bright, colourful and has classic, old-school stations offering a nice experience for teens.

Outside the building, there is a communal rest area, where kids can have fun on the swings, climb and run around safely. We visited in the morning but I imagine in the evening they probably have food trucks there and the place comes alive with youth hanging out there.

Finally, onto the reason we went there in the first place-food! The pizza I mentioned at the beginning is served at the unassuming Pizza Forza, an Italian-owned, small, casual ristorante. The toppings are really something else! You know you’re in good hands when the place offers around 20 different types of pizzas with ingredients like artichokes.

I also really want to try the beautifully-designed Thai restaurant next to it. I love how bright and spacious it looks-after all, space is what you want when you’ve got younger kids who finished their food way too quickly and want to play nearby without disrupting other diners, right?

We intended to spend 30 minutes at VLAB and ended up staying there for almost 1.5 hour, just strolling around and exploring different shops. The interesting thing is that even though there aren’t many, the ones which are open tend to be quirky and intriguing and my 4.5 year old wasn’t bored at all since the place is so colourful and full of children-friendly bits and bobs.

Due to being short on time(!), we didn’t even get to see the upper floors but there was a fair bit of construction going on in various locations, which didn’t disturb us at all and actually made us want to go back to check out what other interesting businesses are about to open there!

Would I come to VLAB if I didn’t live within a 30min drive from it? Yes, I would but then it’s not uncommon for me to travel really far for a specifically place. Don’t come if you’re expecting a modern, shiny, hip or buzzing kind of place because it’s more of a quiet, relaxing one with a cool vibe to it. I can imagine some people getting there and feeling a bit cheated, thinking ‘This is it?‘ because that was our initial reaction too but equally, if you and your kids prefer calm, arty places then this one hits the spot! It certainly did for us:)

Info:

Address: 181 Shatai South Road, Baiyun, Guangzhou

Getting there: Nearest metro station is Meihuayuan on Line 3, which is about a 10min walk from VLAB. If taking a taxi search for VLAB Yifang 181.

Parking: on-site, free

Facilities: Toilets on each floor. Lifts make it accessible for those with prams and the elderly.

Food: A couple of restaurants and cafes in VLAB itself, plus a few restaurants right outside the building. There is a KFC and Starbucks within a 5min walk. I highly recommend Pizza Forza!

Age: 3+