Beijing Zoo is a zoological park in Xizhimen, Xicheng District, Beijing. Founded in 1906 during the late Qing dynasty, it is the oldest zoo in China and oldest public park in northern China.

More than five million people visit the zoo each year. Like many of Beijing's parks, the zoo's grounds resemble classical Chinese gardens, with flower beds amidst natural scenery, including dense groves of trees, stretches of meadows, small streams and rivers, lotus pools, and hills dotted with pavilions and historical buildings.

Most of the animals were purchased by the Viceroy of Liangjiang, Duanfang, from Germany. The animal collection attracted great interest when the farm opened to visitors on 16 June 1908. Admission cost eight copper coins with children at half price.

Republican Era

After the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1911, the zoo became a national botanical garden during the Republican period. In the 1930s, with French aid, Lamarck Hall, named after the botanist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, was built at the experimental farm and housed plant research. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese occupiers built the monkey mountain in 1942, but used the experimental farm as a storage depot. In 1943, the Imperial Japanese Army poisoned the zoo's six lions and two leopards, purportedly to remove potential interference with air defenses.

Early People's Republic

When Beijing became the capital of the People's Republic of China in 1949, only 13 monkeys, three parrots and an emu blind in one eye remained at the zoo. The city government renamed the zoo the Beijing Agricultural Experimentation Center the Western Suburban Park (西郊公园) and began gradually rebuilding the zoo. In 1952, national leaders Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Ren Bishi donated their war horses to the park.

The zoo sent staff to study zoo management in the Soviet Union and Poland, and began to trade animals with Eastern Bloc countries, Burma, India, Indonesia, and Japan to expand its collection. Zoo staff used some 30 species from the zoo including South China Tiger, François' langur, Chinese alligator, python and black bear in such trades. The Moscow Zoo and Leipzig Zoo donated 14 species including African lion, polar bear, brown bear, emu and Himalayan vulture.

Visitors to the zoo can also explore its many Qing dynasty buildings.

Beijing Aquarium

The Beijing Aquarium is located within the zoological park, on the northern bank of the Chang River. Opened in 1999, the aquarium complex covers an area of 120,000 square meters, with 42,000 square meters of interior space. It is the biggest aquarium in China with a large number of fish species and marine mammals. Visitors can watch shows performed by dolphins, belugas, and sea lions.

Location and access

thumb|Giant Pandas in the Beijing Zoo

thumb|Lion in the Beijing Zoo

The Beijing Zoo is located at 137 Xizhimen Wai Dajie in Xicheng District, just west of the northwest corner of the 2nd Ring Road. Outside the zoo is a local public transit hub with Beijing Zoo Station on Line 4 of the Beijing Subway and terminals for Beijing Bus routes 7, 15, 19, 102, and 103. Bus routes 27, 105, 107, 111, 305, 347, 360, 362, 534, 563, 604, 632, 686, 特4, 特19, 夜8 also stop at the zoo.

Nearby attractions

The Beijing Planetarium is located diagonally across the street from the zoo's main entrance. To the west of the zoo is the Purple Bamboo Park. To the east is the Beijing Exhibition Center and the Moscow Restaurant.

Controversies

According to a 2010 article in The Guardian, a restaurant located at the zoo, named "Bin Feng Tan," offers various dishes of exotic animals on its menu. The restaurant manager commented that its dishes were within the law, as the animal products were supplied by exotic animal farms. However, the restaurant received a backlash since the news spread. Ge Rui of the International Fund for Animal Welfare describes the restaurant's menu and practices as "utterly inappropriate for a zoo" and "socially irresponsible." Following the negative coverage, the restaurant stated they would be revising the menu.

A significant portion of James Rollins' Sigma Force novel, The Bone Labyrinth (2015), takes place in, near, and below Beijing Zoo. Rollins depicts unsanitary and inhumane conditions at the zoo, and inhumane animal experimentation there. In the "Author's Note to Readers: Truth or Fiction", Rollins writes: "I did visit the Beijing Zoo and found the state of that zoological park to be appalling. The government continues to hint at changes and plans to move the place into a larger zoo outside the city with more modern accommodations. So hopefully now that I've blown it up, they'll get on with those plans."

Fish and Elephant, directed by documentary filmmaker and former TV hostess Li Yu, is based within the zoo. The film is often referred to as the first Chinese mainland film to broach the topic of lesbian relationships in China.

See also

  • List of endangered and protected species of China

References

  • China Report - Beijing Zoo Update
  • Brief Introduction
  • Beijing Zoo on zooinstitutes.com