Jen in China: Review: The Beijing Zoo

During my Spring Festival break, I went to the Beijing Zoo. It left me feeling like McKayla Maroney – not impressed. While the zoo’s grounds, styled like a traditional Chinese garden, are nice, the conditions the animals live in do not look good.

My issue with the zoo is the animals’ cages. Many of the cages look dirty and/or empty. By empty, I mean the cage didn’t appear to have enough trees and foliage in it. The elephant pens, however, had a different issue. The pens were simply too small.

Now, I realize that I’m not a zoologist or a veterinarian. Maybe the cages were fine and I’m just uninformed. But, the animals’ cages did not look like any other zoo that I’ve been to.

The zoo does have pluses: the grounds, price, and accessibility are all good. I went in winter but, I can imagine just how beautiful the grounds will be in spring. The price admission price is low and the zoo is on the subway and several bus routes. So, many people will be able to go to this zoo. However, I still feel that all of this doesn’t make up for the problems the cages have.

I can’t decide whether I would recommend the Beijing Zoo to anyone. The grounds really are nice but, that I don’t know if that outweighs the possibility of the animals’ cages being poorly maintained. Ultimately, this is a decision that each visitor will have to make for themselves.

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Subway: Line 4: Beijing Zoo Station

Bus Routes: 7, 15, 19, 27, 102, 103, 105, 107, 111, 206, 209, 347, 601, 632, and 732

Admission: ¥15RMB for General Admission – Additional ¥5RMB for the Panda Exhibit

(Source: www.China.Org.Cn)

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