Children feed the carp in a pond at Yu Yuan in Shanghai.

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 US$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 ¡ª 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.

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