Beijing Zoo

Going to the zoo has always been exciting for me. No matter how many animals they got in there, I just love walking around and taking a closer look of the animals.

I remember my first zoo visit in my hometown, Jambi. The zoo is really badly maintained. I’m not even sure if there is any maintenance. It’s like you would think that the zoo will be closing really soon. They only got several animals, like elephants, Sumatran tigers, ostrich, some snakes, monkey, and a couple of wild boar. And I don’t even know why they put some pigs in there. It’s like, pig is not even a rare animal, is it?

My 2nd zoo visit was in Taman Safari in Cisarua, Bogor, which I don’t really remember. It’s huge. Really. And it’s like we’re having a tour in the middle of the rain forest. And we just stayed in the car for most of the part, feeding some tame animals.

And then my third zoo was Singapore Zoo. Okay, I have to admit this one is great. It was well organized & very neat. Seriously.

My 4th zoo was the one in Bandung. I don’t know why it was so crowded there in the weekend. But the fact is there’s nothing worth to see in there. Except the peacock. But still I enjoyed the moment when I first enter the main gate and curiously walking around. I just love visiting a new place.

So, Beijing Zoo happened to be the last zoo I ever visited. Yet. And what makes me so excited about going to Beijing Zoo is that they got pandas in there. I didn’t realize at the first time until I thought : “Hey, this is China! There must a panda somewhere!” I have never seen a real panda before. And not even dreaming about being able to see it. But let’s be frank : everybody wants to see a panda!

And then the day came…

It was a hot humid day, and we spent our whole day wandering around the zoo. Like I said, it’s huge. So it took a day for us.

The zoo itself was a lot different with the one I pictured it. Unlike any other typical zoo, Beijing Zoo looks a lot like a China park rather than a zoo. It has several ponds and lakes, including dense trees, meadows, lotus pools, some pavilions, and some beautiful traditional buildings. Oh! Not to forget the river where we can take a boat ride.

We spent the day wandering around, having our sweet little walk. And of course we did check out most of the animals, but then I was quite sad seeing them in their cages. They looked dirty, ill, and neglected. Even the pandas are also dirty. They looked much more like a brown-black panda rather than a white-black one. And sadly they just stood at the door waiting to be fed. Or waiting to be released I guess.

However, as we walked further into the zoo, we found some very beautiful areas. And some renovations are also being done there. So I guess there would be more beautiful buildings. There are also a lot of places to sit and enjoy the view. It’s just… very scenic.

We got extremely tired and hungry in the afternoon, so we decided to stop by a street snack market to grab some hotdog and coke.

And oh! There’s one important thing you should never forget about. A map! Always bring a map wherever you go if you have no internet connection. An English version would be even better. I brought a Chinese version I got from the hotel and in fact, it didn’t help at all. You know, since the zoo itself is quite large, we can barely find a way out. I mean, the one where we got in from. And since we got the wrong gate, we ended up getting lost on the way back to the hotel. What a day!

But overall, I really enjoy taking a walk in the zoo! What do you think? 😀

Location

Operational Hour
Around 7.30 am – 6 pm everyday

Admission Fee
CNY 15   (entrance fee)
CNY 20   (entrance fee + Panda House)
CNY 130 (entrance fee + Beijing Aquarium + Panda House)