Shanghai Summer 2026: What's Actually On 夏日档

Here is Shanghai's summer 2026 lineup, fact-checked so you do not have to: family jazz at the Children's Art Theatre on July 18 and 19 (from ¥180), the official EVA English afternoon tea at Takashimaya through August 30, a free Butterbear takeover at BFC on the Bund, and two Songjiang parks, Playa Maya for water and Happy Valley's EV Music Park for rides with live music, both running late into the night. I have kept this list short on purpose. Every date, price and address below was cross-checked against the venue's own channels plus an independent source this week, and a few widely shared items that did not survive the checking got quietly dropped. What is left is the stuff I would actually send a friend to. Pair it with our summer survival guide when the 40-degree alerts start rolling in. Where can kids hear live jazz in Shanghai this July? At the Big Whale. Shanghai Children's Art Theatre , the whale-shaped riverside venue on Miaojiang Lu that every local parent calls 大鲸鱼, opens its 2026 Summer Music Island season with Magic Jazz Night : a real jazz band, piano, trumpet and upright bass, playing a 60-minute set written for people whose legs do not reach the floor. Nobody…