TEEMING with international high-rollers, glittery skyscrapers and construction cranes, China's sophisticated capital of business wouldn't seem a welcoming place for children at first glance. But it won't take long for parents to discover that Shanghai, with its many parks, markets and museums, can captivate the younger set.

It helps that despite the crowds (the population of Shanghai is 17 million), the city is relatively crime-free. Taxis are cheap, and the subway is easy to navigate.

In fact, transportation is part of the fun, which begins as soon as you land. From the Pudong International Airport, about 30 miles east of the city, you can catch the 267-mile-per-hour German-engineered Maglev, or magnetic levitation, train (86-21-2890-7777; www.smtdc.com). It's a scenery-blurring, eight-minute hurtle to the edge of town. One-way trips are 50 yuan, about $6.40 at 7.85 yuan to the dollar, or 40 yuan with a same-day airline ticket. From the Maglev's terminus at Longyang Lu, you can take a taxi or the subway to the city center.

FROM MARKETS TO MUSEUMS

As early as the 15th century, the heart of Shanghai was the Yu Yuan (Yu Garden) area. This Ming Dynasty walled garden of pavilions, willows and rocks has been overshadowed by its bazaar, a labyrinth of kiosks and specialty shops overhung by swooping, Ming-style tile roofs. There, you can buy chopsticks, silk pajamas, wigs, American fast food, guitars, kites and fermented tofu, among many other items. Merchants demonstrate everything from bubble-blowers to Chinese yo-yos; others beckon passersby to sample tea and gelato.

From the Yu Yuan's zigzag bridge, children can toss fish food (2 yuan a bag) into a murky pond, and the water will roil with red and gold carp. Next to the bridge, through the kitchen windows of the Nan Xiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, a dumpling brigade pumps out xiao long bao, soupy pork nuggets that are Shanghai's signature snack. For a super-size, fun-to-eat version, go to the He Feng Lou Snack Plaza (10 Wen Chang Lu, Yu Yuan; 86-21-6326-7898). Diners there poke straws into 10-yuan dumplings as big as plums to drink the broth.

Engrossing to some, gross to others, Shanghai's street markets are an unforgettable adventure. West of Yu Yuan, for instance, Dajing Lu's sidewalks overflow with poultry, fish, shrimp and crabs. A woman guts a three-foot eel, and a few stores down, young men skin palm-sized frogs faster than you can peel a tangerine.

At the Shanghai Municipal History Museum in Pudong's Oriental Pearl TV Tower (1 Shi Ji Da Dao; 86-21-5879-1888), you can judge how much or little Dajing Lu might have changed over the ages. Dioramas of a 19th-century cotton-making shop, a pharmacy and other establishments have life-size wax models, and videos show Shanghai's former racetrack and a Chinese neighborhood in the 1930s. Editorializing is light — aside from the hallway entitled “The Metropolis Infested With Foreign Adventurers,” a reference to almost 100 years of British, American and French control. Admission is 17.50 yuan for children under 47 inches tall, and 35 yuan for everyone else.

Farther out in Pudong, Shanghai's Science and Technology Museum (2000 Shi Ji Da Dao; 86-21-6862-2000; www.sstm.org.cn) catapults you to the cutting edge. Children can challenge a robot at games, ride a bicycle on a cable 15 feet in the air and fiddle with optical illusions. A “4D” movie showers you with snow and other surprises. Although many exhibits lack English explanations, my 10-year-old nephew loved it. Admission: 20 to 60 yuan.

Regardless of your age, “ERA: Intersection of Time” (Shanghai Circus World, 2266 Gong He Xin Lu, north of downtown; 86-21-6652-7501; www.era-shanghai.com) keeps you on the edge of your seat. Contortionists twist into pretzels, stilt-walkers somersault and motorcyclists speed inside a 10-foot-diameter sphere. Tickets: 80 to 580 yuan.

OUTDOORS

Shanghai's lifeline to the sea, the Huangpu River, also divides the city into Puxi, its older, western part, and Pudong, the more recently developed, flashier section. Pudong's riverfront promenade is ideal for strolls, flying kites and views of the Bund, a stretch of early 20th-century European edifices. The hard-working Huangpu bustles with tugs, barges and freighters.

Chinese parks are typically simulations of nature overtaken by pavement, artificial lakes, rides and snack stands. Of Shanghai's public parks, Gongqing Forest Park in northeastern Puxi (2000 Jungong Lu; 86-21-6532-8194; www.shgqsl.com) is the closest to natural. Its tree-stump trash cans are fake wood, but the grassy meadows, fir and bamboo groves and bird trills are very real. Horseback riding, roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, go-kart rides and a rock-climbing wall are among the entertainment options. To get around Gongqing, you can walk, catch a shuttle (10 yuan), or ride a tandem-bike (20 yuan an hour) or boat (20 to 50 yuan an hour). Entrance is free for children under 47 inches, 9.6 to 12 yuan for bigger folks.

DOWNTIME

For a higher-than-a-bird's-eye view, head to Jin Mao Tower, an Art Deco monolith, which on cloudy nights evokes Gotham City. The Grand Hyatt (88 Shi Ji Da Dao; 86-21-5049-1234; www.shanghai.grand.hyatt.com), occupies floors 53 to 87, and the lobby offers jaw-dropping panoramas. From the 56th-floor Patio lounge, gaze up at the dizzying spiral of rooms. Though the lounge is geared toward the cigar-and-cognac set, you can order milk (50 yuan) and chocolate cake (70 yuan). An evening trio plays jazz on classical Chinese instruments.

The Shanghai Huangpu River Cruise tours (127 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu or 219 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu; 86-21-6374-4461) plunk you amid the action on the Huangpu. Cranes mark future sites of the 2010 World Expo, a cruise ship terminal and a 101-story office tower. Boats depart every half-hour, but try for one at dusk, when landmarks on both banks are illuminated. An hour cruise is 38 yuan until 6 p.m., 50 yuan afterward; kids under 51 inches ride free.

With its strobe lights and psychedelic colors, the Bund Tourist Tunnel (300 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu; 86-21-5888-6000) offers a Disney-esque tram ride across the Huangpu. A one-way trip is free for children under 31.5 inches, 17.5 or 35 yuan for everyone else.

WHERE TO EAT

Have breakfast where the executive chef of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant on the Bund does: at the stalls on Changle and Xiangyang roads. Meat and vegetable steamed buns, scallion flatbread and egg-filled crepes sell for about 1 yuan apiece. You can picnic at nearby Fuxing Park.

A few blocks south, the maestro at Wang Hao Wang (123 Xiangyang Lu; 86-21-6466-0832) twists and pulls blocks of dough into skeins of spaghetti, then plops them into boiling broth. The noodles, starting at 4 yuan a bowl, are divine.

Din Tai Fung (2nd floor, Xintiandi south block, Huangpi Nan and Zizhong Lu; 86-21- 6385-8378) makes Shanghai's best xiao long bao (45 to 68 yuan for 10). Also on its menu are basics like wonton soup, braised bamboo shoots and sweet-smoky fried fish.

If you're craving upscale and your children are adept at fine dining, T8 (Building 8, Xintiandi north block, 181 Taicang Lu; 86-21-6355-8999; www.t8-shanghai.com) will suit you both. The cuisine is Aussie-Asian; the décor, swanky Zen. Entrees include roasted black cod with potato and lobster mash (288 yuan) and Angus beef tenderloin with oxtail strudel (358 yuan). The children's menu offers pizza, fish and chips or a BLT and ice cream for 58 yuan. Sit alongside the open kitchen to watch the chefs.

The Sunday brunch at the Westin Bund Center (88 Henan Zhong Lu; 86-21-6335-1888; www.westin.com/shanghai) is a buffet with everything from caviar and tiramisù to chicken nuggets and ice cream sundaes. Dancers and acrobats perform, and roving artisans turn balloons and grass into animals for the kids. A babysitting corner has toys and cartoons. Ages 6 and younger eat free, 7 to 12 are 185 yuan, and adults 418.

WHERE TO STAY

At the Portman Ritz-Carlton (1376 Nanjing Xi Lu; 86-21-6279-8888; www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/shanghai) the service, including babysitting and toddler-proofing kits, is superb. In the Shanghai Center, the hotel is just steps from a grocery store, pharmacy and family-friendly restaurants. Standard doubles are 3,320 yuan, but look for specials.

The Radisson Plaza Xing Guo Hotel (78 Xingguo Lu; 86-21-6212-9998; www.radisson.com/shanghaicn_plaza) is surrounded by lawn and trees. The oasis of a hotel also has a swimming pool, bowling lanes, ping-pong tables and babysitters. Standard doubles, a bit small, start at 1,600 yuan on weekdays.

Regal International East Asia Hotel (516 Hengshan Lu; 86-21-6415-5588; www.regal-eastasia.com) has tennis courts, billiards, a bowling alley, a pool and a small play room. The rooms are simple and comfortable, and doubles are 1,300 yuan on weekdays and 900 yuan on weekends through July.

The Shanghai Center's short-stay apartments (1376 Nanjing Xi Lu; 86-21-6279-8665; www.shanghaicentre.com) generally require a minimum five-nights' stay, but not always. Apartments come with kitchens, maid service and use of the Ritz-Carlton's gym. One-bedrooms start at 1,570 yuan a night, two bedrooms at 1,970.