Shenzhen Safari Zoo

Shenzhen has a fairly large zoo in the north end of the city. I saw a few things online saying it was called the Shenzhen Safari Park and others just saying Shenzhen Zoo. I still have no idea if they are the same place or not.

Before I went, I looked at some reviews to get an idea of what it would be like. There were a lot of mixed reviews – some saying that it was awesome and others saying that the animals weren’t all that well taken care of. But they did mostly agree that it would take at least 3 hours to get through the whole place.

Getting There

Getting to the zoo, whatever it is called, is really easy. You just take the metro to Xili Lake and the Zoo’s entrance is right outside Exit B. Literally, you exit the metro station, turn right, and you’re at the entrance sign for the Zoo.

It is still a little walk to the ticket windows and animals, but that is only because they have to put their parking lots somewhere. They aren’t even very big parking lots as taking the metro is so much more convenient than driving in most of China. But they lined the walk with some slightly creepy animal statues and pictures.

• 

• 

As I approached the entry gates, the guard pointed off to the side and said tickets, in English! Which was a big help, as the ticket windows were a little hidden behind some tables and an awning. But, it is off to the right of the entrance gates, if you visit and don’t meet such a proactive guard.

Buying the ticket was just as easy as at Windows. I walked up and said “one” in Chinese (一个, yī ge) while holding up a finger. Showed my WeChat Pay code and, 240 yuan later, I received my ticket.

Making my way back to the guard, he checked that I still have a green health code. I made my way through an unmanned metal detector. It went off. No one was there to care. And walked up to the one person manning the entrance gates. She punched the ticket and in I went.

Looking around for a map to figure out where to go, I saw a Chinese couple coming in behind me. They had a map! Where did they get it from? I have no ideas. I never saw another map, but I was very jealous.

Birds

Oh well, time to pick right or left blindly. I chose right. And quickly discovered lots of different birds.

There were big birds. Small birds. Weird birds. And familiar birds.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Later, I discovered some other tropical birds while I waited for the only hot food I’d seen all day, some hot dogs, to finish cooking.

• 

• 

Carnivore Walk

After the birds, I came up to some tigers. The first tigers I saw were right on the main path. They had some overhead walkways to get from their exhibit to somewhere else. I couldn’t really tell. I did see a tiger on the walk, but by the time I noticed it, it was already disappearing into the trees.

Further up the hill, I saw some trucks with, what looked like, a cage for passengers to ride in the back. Eventually, I learned that on less rainy days or days with more visitors, for just 50 yuan, you could ride in the back and feed the other tigers.

And they have a lot of tigers! I saw probably 30 tigers while traveling along the elevated “Carnivore Walk”.

• 

• 

• 

After the neverending tigers, up next were a pair of wolves and the bears. A man was sitting behind a little counter selling cut-up apples for 20 yuan that you could throw to the bears as a tasty treat.

These bears got fed so often by the visitors that they have gotten very good at catching the apples in their mouths. They also learned that people are more likely to throw them apples if they raise a paw and open their mouths, ready and waiting for their treat.

• 

• 

After getting down from the elevated walk, I saw some panthers and jaguars in some very small cages. As it was a hot afternoon in China, the big cats were mostly sleeping.

• 

• 

Pandas and Monkeys

What zoo in China would be complete with giant pandas and red pandas? The giant pandas were inside enjoying some air conditioning. I was very jealous! I didn’t get to enjoy any air conditioning while visiting them. Most of the red pandas were outside, except one, who was enjoying some air conditioning quite a bit.

• 

• 

• 

Then it was on to the monkeys. They were in two different areas, but still relatively close to each other. Except for the really sad orangutans. They were in the middle but their exhibit had a role floor, no straw or anything on it to sit on or play with, and the lights were turned off. I thought it was empty until a shadow moved.

• 

• 

• 

Ice and Sea Worlds

Next up was the area I like to call Ice Worldorld. It was an extra fee to rent a big winter jacket and go look at giant ice sculptures. I wanted to go in and enjoy the air conditioning, as I was dripping sweat, but I didn’t want to spend money to rent a coat I didn’t want or need.

Sea World, another area I named, was right around the corner from Ice World. It had a huge room with jellyfish, some of my favorite animals, where I got to finally enjoy some air conditioning! It was a toss-up between which I enjoyed more. There were also a few curious seals and a shark tank with tons of fish, sharks, and manta rays.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Herbivores and Leaving the Zoo

Finally, it was time for the herbivores. Elephants, giraffes, and zebras, oh, my! It was also lunchtime for all these animals. Unfortunately, I don’t really have anything to say about them. I’m sure someone could wax poetically about typical zoo animals wandering around eating in their uninteresting exhibits. But, I did take lots of pictures!

• 

• 

• 

• 

After the herbivores, it was getting late and I was hungry (stupid zoo not having any good, open food places). So, I started making my way back to the entrance.

Along the way, I discovered a little kiddie carnival and some baby animals. The baby tigers were adorable and were playing; they even made a tiger pile! I also learned that baby raccoons are cute.

• 

• 

• 

Final Thoughts

I know Chinese zoos have a terrible reputation for how they treat their animals, and this zoo definitely wasn’t perfect. Some exhibits were great, some not so much, some animals seemed really happy, others seemed a bit stressed.

Overall, I enjoyed my trip to the zoo. If I go back I’d try to go on a busier day so I could feed the tigers and a bunch of the other animals.