Travel Notes Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park: the sea at Lingang
An ocean park on Dishui Lake
The park lies on the shore of Dishui Lake in Lingang, Pudong, and opened on 16 November 2018. It covers about 29.7 hectares with 205,000 square metres of buildings and represents an investment of roughly five billion yuan. More than five million visitors a year make it the densest collection of marine animals in the Yangtze delta.
What each of the six halls shows
The Antarctic penguin hall keeps nearly 300 birds in an eight-metre-deep tank, and you watch them dive behind acrylic. Iceberg Arctic Hall holds polar bears, wolves and foxes on simulated tundra. The volcano shark hall has a seven-metre tank and offers paid dives, while the coral and jellyfish hall uses lighting to raise more than twenty species and is the park’s best spot for photographs.
The orca theatre and shows to catch
The orca theatre is the park’s headline act, with the science show running several times a day and a splash zone at the front. The dolphin and beluga shows are indoors and play through the rain. The world’s first Ultraman pavilion, added in 2021, is the other magnet, and children refuse to leave it. Pick up the show schedule at opening and plan the route backwards from it.
Chaining the five zones together
The five zones are Mermaid Bay, Polar Town, Ice and Snow Kingdom, Undersea Wonderland and Ocean Tribe. A sensible loop starts at Mermaid Bay by the gate, moves clockwise through the polar and ice sections, stops for lunch in Undersea Wonderland and finishes in Ocean Tribe for the shows. A full day is about twenty thousand steps, so wear soft shoes.
Tickets and value for money
An adult ticket is 330 yuan, children and seniors 180. That is not cheap for this kind of venue, but six animal halls and several shows fill a day. Dives and some interactive exhibits cost extra. Weekdays are far quieter and the animals more active, which is the slot locals pick.
How far out Lingang is
Metro Line 16 to Lingang Avenue, then bus 4 or 1135 to Yinfei Road, five minutes on foot. By car it is about sixty kilometres and an hour from People’s Square, with some 3,000 spaces at 30 yuan a visit. Most halls start closing after four, so do not overfill the day.
Haichang packs animal-watching tightly: six halls, several shows, twenty thousand steps. It is far from the centre, and three hours of travel round trip is real, but once the route follows the show schedule, this is the one place in Shanghai where you see the whole ocean in a day.
Practical information
- Hours: 9:00-17:30 (check official notices).
- Tickets: 330 yuan adult, 180 yuan for children and seniors.
- Getting there: Metro Line 16 to Lingang Avenue, then bus 4 or 1135 to Yinfei Road, five minutes on foot.
- Driving: about 3,000 spaces at 30 yuan a visit; roughly sixty kilometres from People’s Square.
- Tip: collect the show schedule at the gate and plan backwards from it; avoid weekends.
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