Shanghai Zoo

We wanted to see pandas, so naturally, we went to the Shanghai Zoo.  It cost us 80 rmb (40 rmb per adult) to enter the zoo.  Kids 6 yo and under AND below 1.5 m can get in free.  Really?  A height requirement?  Guess they don’t want anyone lying about their age.  So if you have a tall 4 yo, gotta pay up!

I read reviews about the zoo back in the US. About how it was not well kept and how the animals looked so sad.  So, honestly, I really wasn’t looking forward to going.  First off, this freaking place is H.U.G.E. I will agree that the zoo isn’t very well maintained.  Guess what, neither is the rest of Shanghai. If you expected anything more than the city, your expectations were way too high.

First few exhibits were fish, lizards and snakes. The enclosures were pretty dirty. Actually, very dirty. Then we went through a butterfly exhibit. Holy wow. It was beautiful. Flowers were gorgeous, place was very well maintained and the butterflies were everywhere.

Then we walked outside and saw a tram.  Hmmm, I wonder where this tram goes.  Wish I could ask.  The kids looked a little tired so why not try.  As we got on, a few others did as well. Since it wasn’t free, some people got off. It was 15 rmb per adult and 5 rmb per child.  Ok. 40 rmb for us.  Wow, that’s half the price of the entrance fee!  Now where is this tram going to take us.  Nice.  It took us all the way to the bear and panda exhibit in the back.  We passed 3 huge lakes with swans and ducks.  I’d easily say we didn’t have to walk 3/4 mile.  40 rmb was totally worth it.

Then we saw the bears.  Yeah, all those stories in the newspaper of people falling into a bear cage.  TOTALLY understand now.  There was a stone wall, up to my waist, then three horizontal metal mesh wire below my shoulder.  Well, you could easily step up on the stone wall and have about 2 feet of unstable metal wire between you and the bears.  It was crazy.  Anyway, these bears do tricks for food.  Not food you can purchase through the zoo, but food in your own lunch box.  Unfortunately, some weren’t necessarily throwing food, but inedible objects. No one was there to stop anything. The do not feed signs obviously failed their purpose.

Then we saw the statues for the panda exhibit.  Heck yeah!  Can’t wait to see the pandas.  Then we saw them.  They had TWO (2) panda bears.  They were more guarded with plexi glass around their enclosure.  They were happily munching on sugar cane.

We saw some animals I haven’t seen in the US which was pretty cool. For example we saw a red panda, capybara and caracal.

Then we saw the usual, monkeys, kangaroos, giraffes, zebras and elephants.  What I noticed at this zoo, was that most of the animals were active compared to the states.  In the states, you barely see reptiles moving.  Everything here was moving.  So either the US sedates the animals or China gives them speed.  Your guess is as good as mine.

Then we saw the infamous tram.  Do I have to pay 40 rmb to use it again?  At this time, the boys are done.  We debated getting back on one, in the meantime, we had ice cream (which were horrible – EXTREMELY stale – stay away especially at 10 rmb each) and looked at all the rides.  The rides varied – anywhere from 8-20 rmb per person.  Since our boys weren’t tall enough, we had to ride with them.  We decided to pass on all the rides since they didn’t look up to US standards regarding safety.  Then we saw a tram heading towards the exit – so we jumped on.  FAST.  Didn’t have to pay another 40 rmb, just had to give them our ticket we got on the way to see the bears.  BEST spent 40 rmb.  I’d highly recommend it, especially if you have a 3 and a 4 yo and no stroller.

So for an 80 rmb entrance fee, you could easily spend 4x that inside the zoo.  Bring cash.  I’d recommend it – just don’t have high expectations of a clean place! Expect to be there for 2-4 hours. We were in and out in 2 hours flat.

I’ll end this post with a picture of an emergency kit.  Brought to you by the Shanghai Zoo.