Beijing Zoo

Beijing Zoo is one of the most popular tourist sites in Beijing. It was built in 1908 and was the first zoo to be opened to the general public in China. It is located in the Xicheng district of Beijing city, which is now one of prosperous business areas of the city. It's very easy to get there as many buses pass by the zoo. You could also try one of the two canal routes, which leave via Summer Palace. Beijing Zoo covers an area of more than 50 000 square meters, has a collection of more than 600 animal species and a population of more than 7 000 animals. There are more than 30 large halls, not only for wild and rare native animals to China, but also ...  Read the complete review

I visited Beijing Zoo in October this year, and I found it very different to zoos in the UK. First we saw the pandas, there was an inside and outside enclosure which seemed quite new and spacious. It was very crowded and nosiy, and lots of people were trying to get to the front of the crowd to take photos. We saw a white tiger and a puma (I think) inside and I found this a bit upsetting as the cages were quite small and plain, again it was quite crowded, but not so crowded as the pandas (they stole the show!). The zoo grounds are very large and there are lots of place to sit and enjoy the view, there is a large lake with lots of willow ...  Read the complete review

Beijing is a city full of culture and history, so it seems to be a bad idea of visiting a zoo in a seven days trip to Beijing. But the Zoo of Beijing is indeed large, full of all kinds of animals, and it will take you a whole day to have a full trip. So, if you were a fan of animals, you may want to spend a whole day in it, but if you want to experience something special in Beijing, zoo is not the perfect place. The zoo is large, so grasp a map when entering, you will find it very help then. I think now the map has English guidance because of the 2008 Olympics. You have to be aware of crowd. Take this in mind, the crowd in the zoo will surely be out of your ...  Read the complete review

Is this te best zoo in the world? In a word NO. However this is certainly the most intriguing zoo i have ever been to. The complete lack of security and animal care that seemed to be in place was bewildering. For example the lions and tigers in a pit with only small barrier around them. Children were climbing over the barrier and dangling into the pit. This got me extremeley worried about the fact one slip could then lead to them getting eaten. It was deeply worrying. Because of this format, people were also throwing the animals food and rubbish into the animal pens. There were no signs or workers to discourage this. Also polar bears in the blistering sun with ...  Read the complete review