Sep 17 2008
Beijing Zoo
Address: No. 131 Xi Zhi Men Wai Avenue
Beijing, P.R.China
Phone: +86 10 6831 4411
Email: bjzoo@public3.bta.net.cn
Hours: 7:30a.m- 6:00p.m.
Bus Lines: No.27, 103, 105 and 111.
Subway: Line 2 at Xizhimen Station and walk for about 15 minutes.
Website: http://www.beijingzoo.com
Beijing Zoo, situated to the west of Beijing Exhibition Center, is one of the most famous and largest zoos in China. Beijing Zoo covers an area of about 50 hectares. The animal houses and enclosures, with a total floor space of 40,000 square metres, include those for pandas, elephants, brown and polar bears, tigers, hippopotami, rhinoceros, antelopes, giraffes and reptiles.
Like many of Beijing’s parks, areas of the zoo has the distinctive look of classical Chinese gardens. The grounds combine cultivated flower gardens with stretches of natural scenery, including dense groves of trees, stretches of grassland, a small stream, lotus pools and small hills dotted with pavilions and halls.
As China’s premier Zoo, Beijing Zoo has both rare Chinese animals, such as the Giant Panda and the Golden Monkey, and also a strong selection from around the world - from Polar Bears to Kangaroos. The zoo is also a center of zoological research that studies and breeds rare animals from various continents.
History:
In 1906, during the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the park area became an agricultural experimental farm and a zoo. Known as “Wan Sheng Yuan” (the Garden of Ten Thousand Animals), it opened to the public in 1908. The park was formally named the Beijing Zoo on April 10, 1955.
Location:
The Toronto Zoo is situated to the west of Beijing Exhibition Center. The Main Entrance is located on Xi Zhi Men Wai Avenue. The Zoo is accessible by car and public transit.
Tickets:
General Admission: 15 RMB
Panda Hall: 5 RMB (an additional price on top of the price of admission).
The Beijing Ocean Hall: 120 RMB (includes the General Admission and the Panda Hall).
Animals:
More than 7,000 animals representing over 600 species are on show in Beijing Zoo. Among them are giant pandas, golden monkeys, addaxes, tigers from Northeast China, elks, yaks, precious birds and gold fish. Also on show ale rare animals from various continents, such as hippopotami, zebras, giraffes. Chimpanzees, lions and antelopes from Africa, parrots from South America, birds and kangeroos from Australia, polar bears from the Arctic, bisons from Europe and Asian apes.
Attendance: Approximately 6 million visitors per year.
The Beijing Ocean Hall:
Measures 35, 000 square meters, Beijing Ocean Hall located in the northeast of the zoo. Seen from afar, the hall looks like a gigantic ocean trumpet shell. The shape of the architecture tells the visitors that it is a place associated with the sea. Going into this huge “trumpet shell,” you find yourself really in close contact with the sea. The spacious hall is subdivided into several zones: the Hall of Tropical Rain Forest, the Hall of the Shark, the Ocean Theater and the Ocean Library and Reading Hall among others. Here the visitors can touch the aquarium in which the dynamic ocean bottom is visible. Through the close contact with the various sea lives, one feels as if he or she was in the bottom of the vast ocean. In addition to seeing the natural conditional of the ocean life, visitors are also invited to enjoy the interesting sea animal show. Those clever and cute sea animals such as dolphin make your trip hard to forget.
Facilities:
There are several cafes and restaurants available in the Zoo. A variety of snack bars and frozen treat carts are located throughout the site. Gift shops and kiosks located throughout the Zoo site.
