Beijing Zoo???
Feb 5th, 2002, 06:30 AM
#2
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Brenda: We went to the Beijing Zoo a couple of years ago, but ONLY to the panda section which had at that time a separate entrance. Don't know about the present status.<BR>It was right after Christmas and the city was coverd with snow. Quite exceptional. Some of the pandas were outside enjoying the snow and playing around. Some stayed inside. Whether it's worth it? Difficult to say. We thought it was quite funny to observe the animals, but being aware that they are not that happy with their situation. Oh well, I have a couple of cute pictures. They sell a lot of souvenirs such as umbrellas, T-shirts, backpacks, pins, mugs, ashtrays, well everything with pandas on it to help them finance them. <BR>It's really up to you. Cannot help to make your decision.
Feb 5th, 2002, 06:42 AM
#3
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If you do go to the zoo you'll probably want to confine your visit to the pandas. The star attraction, they live in rather better circumstances than much of the rest of the collection. Overseas visitors often find the way the animals are housed, and the way they are treated by visitors both a little distressing. Really only consider this if you have no chance of seeing Pandas elsewhere. There is so much else in Beijing that is unique to the city, you'd anyway be better to spend your free day elsewhere.<BR><BR>If wildlife particularly interests you, however, consider a trip to the south side of Beijing to visit the Milu Deer Park. The Milu, or Pere David's deer (also known as the 'si bu xiang' or 'doesn't resemble four things' to the Chinese) is a very odd-looking native deer named after the French Jesuit who sent skins back to Europe. It subsequently became extinct in China, but was reintroduced from a herd at Woburn Abbey (in England). The park is a tiny green remainder of a vast imperial hunting park, through much of which the deer roam at will. The manager of the place is an unusual character who has worked and studied at zoos in Berlin and Dublin, and as a result the place is well-organised, educational (including an excellent exhibition about the extinction of various species), and in addition to the Milu offers other kinds of deer, and a couple of the 'original' small horses called Przhvalski (dozens of alternative spellings) horses.<BR><BR>This is a nice trip out of town to a green spot, not too far, and can be done either by public bus or taxi.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html
Feb 11th, 2002, 05:37 AM
#4
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Brenda, I have to agree with Peter. If you've never seen pandas before up close, it's worth a visit but just to see the pandas. I can't remember exactly how many they had there but I think the zoo has 6 or 8 pandas that you can see up close. The pandas were treated much better than the rest of the animals, their enclosure wasn't much different than what you would see in a US zoo. However, when we wandered into the rest of the zoo, the animals were in open enclosures with the locals throwing plastic bottles at the animals and feeding them all kinds of awful stuff.
Mar 20th, 2002, 03:37 PM
#5
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Brenda - I must agree with the others.. The Panda exhibit is definitely worthwhile, but SKIP the rest of the Zoo. I was in Beijing in 1999 and I did the entire zoo. I walked out feeling sick. The monkeys were loose and digging into the dumpsters, people were throwing plastic cups and other garbage at the polar bears and it was absolutely abhorrent. Spare yourself the grief of seeing the animals treated soooo poorly by the Zoo visitors. Stick to the Panda exhibit and skip the rest.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip to Beijing!
