It was the first nice day in what seems like weeks. I know I’m exaggerating, but the terrible smog over Christmas was enough to make me want to drown my sorrows in far too much spiked eggnog, which is, by the way, not the best parenting methodology. So, on December 30, I took them to Solana, to their famous Kid’s town, so they could run out their cooped up energy. It was too cold for outdoor romping, but the to and from in sunny blue-sky weather put me in a good enough mood to accept the ticket cost.
When my daughter was about a year old, indoor play areas at Solana and other local shopping centers were around RMB 40 per single entry, and purchasing a card made it even cheaper. How is that in only three years, finding a spot under RMB 100 (which is the price of this place, for a single entertainment area; RMB 200 if you want to try all of the areas) seems like a difficult task? The indoor play center at The Indigo Mall is RMB 150 per kid, for instance. I am shaking my head right now.
Nevertheless, this spongy, bouncy, colourful, kid-giggle-inducing spot was worth the RMB 200 it cost me before I took everyone out for lunch. The kids were fully engaged.
My daughter loved the carousel of squishy hanging stars, the kid’s size doll house, and the balls. My son was all about the spongy shapes and the little foot-propelled cars. They never stopped running between playthings. The place even had some air filters for bad air days, though I can’t comment on their brand or effectiveness. Two full hours later and it was hard to pull them away for lunch before getting my son home for his nap.
There is also a card you can purchase, of course, but the good news is that kids can play all day for that price, so at least I know that for the nap-free future. Of course, by the time my son is no longer napping, I’d better prepare myself for triple the price!
Photos: Courtesy of Ember Swift
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