The world's 14th and China's first Legoland Discovery Center opened to public on April 2, 2016. The 30,000 square-meter indoor attraction is located on the second floor of Parkside Plaza in Putuo. Just look for the giant Lego giraffe...




Photos by Brandon. Words by Jin Qian.

Adult fans of Lego, don't get too excited. The Legoland Discovery Center is just for kids. Unlike "Legoland" proper, the Legoland Discovery Centers around the world are designed specifically for children ages 3 -10, and you'll need kid accompaniment to get in (except the gift shop, which located at the exit). And no, they don't have adults-only nights, at least for now.

There is about two to three hours worth of entertainment inside the theme park according to the official press release, but with the crowds since it opened, you can pad that number out somewhat with classic Shanghai line-waiting action.

There are 10 different play zones for kids to explore. This first room gives you a factory tour, and you can also control the panel to create a Lego minifigure on the 360-degree projected screen.

Not every zone is about building Lego bricks; some are about destroying them. The first interactive ride, for example, is a medical-themed adventure. Riders shoot lasers at targets all the way through. It also secretly snaps a picture of you in the dark and keeps score -- quite creepy. One photo with a folder is yours for 80rmb.

Here comes the most impressive part -- Shanghai Miniland! Behold, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. We're just bursting with civic pride.

Shanghai Miniland is built out of 3,900,000 pieces of Lego bricks -- almost 4 million -- way more than any other Legoland Discovery Centers in the rest of the world. Not every city has this many glorious skyscrapers, right?

They've included Lego replicas of iconic Shanghai landmarks such as the Pearl Tower, China Art Museum, Pudong Airport, and the Yu Garden. Lots of attention to detail. One has to commend the verisimilitude of the should-to-shoulder crowd here on this Yu Garden bridge. We're reading that as subtle satire.

Pudong Airport. They have Lego minifigures driving airport trailers around as well.

Speaking of minifigures, they've included over 2,800 of them, scattered around the various locations, living their lives, taking selfies, walking their dogs...

...even fighting with tiny Godzilla.

Miniland completes a full day-to-night cycle every five minutes. At night time, fireworks shoot off in the sky against the classic Bund backdrop. There's even a Dragon Dance in the Yu Garden. And if you listen closely for it... yep, it's sound of constant drilling and 24-hour construction in Pudong.

Clearer skies in here rather than outside, maybe. During the "night" the city lights up and you can get some really nice shots of the architecture that you might not otherwise. If you squint, it's basically the real thing.

Kids can learn Lego building skills at the Creative Workshops with their house experts. Here's two dudes whose job is it to play with Legos all day. Well played, gentlemen. The Creative Workshop is free and open every day, but you have to book your time slot on-site.

This particular section of the workshop is called
"Heartlake City", a building area designed mostly for young girls. In this area, kids can help Olivia, Emma and the other "Lego girls" build their party accessories and decorate their city. Umm... yeah. Look at this girl in the photo. Doing some Aerospace engineering. Right on, little sister. You're the future!

For small children, there's a tiny zone called the "Lego Duplo" farm, which stocks rubber bricks and more age-appropriate educational diversions. Right next to that is the very organized looking Lego Café. They're selling snacks, sandwiches, soft drinks, and dessert options. Pretty cheap actually, although maybe not the healthiest of foods.

More young women architects of the future, very much in the expanded sense of that word. Sisters gonna work it out.

Merlin's Apprentice, another interactive ride. The faster you pedal, the higher you go in the sky. Pretty neat.

Kids can build their own racing car and test them out in this, the "Lego Racers: Build & Test Zone".

The Discovery Center also offers a few "soft play" areas with different themes. These are all equipped with hand sanitizer gel dispensers. Nice touch. They also hosts two VIP rooms for your little emperors' private parties, but you have to book those ahead. Never too young to educate your kids on the realities of social stratification, especially if the Center is serving as the Lego training grounds to the horrific coal mine they shall one day inherit...

A small 4D cinema features a 15-minute long adventure/fantasy film. Might have something to do with Merlin again, wasn't really paying attention. The 3D effect is legit, with the fourth dimension supplied through wind and snow (foam, actually) pumping into the room.

Finally, the gift shop. Lego products galore. Here, you can splash a couple of hundred RMB and collect The Simpsons, Ninjago, and DC superheroes Lego sets. We hear it's a better investment than stocks and gold.

It's also the only place in China where you can get Lego products in bulk: bricks, minifigure heads, wigs...

...really, heads. Quite terrifying. You can spend some time here to find your exact Lego doppelganger.

And of course, Star Wars.

It's always Star Wars. There is no escaping Star Wars. Here's the famous Millennium Falcon Lego set.

And here's what it looks like when Harrison Ford himself smashes it into a million pieces.

All patrons are encouraged to buy tickets online ahead of time to visit the Lego Discovery Center. The price is 180rmb on site, but if you book ahead, it's 150rmb on weekdays, 160rmb on weekends, and 180rmb on national holidays. They also sell an annual membership card for 800rmb, with 10% off discount on all products in the Discovery Center.