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Published: November 4th 2009
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Zoo entrance
Same design on other side We went with some friends to the
Shanghai Zoo on Halloween, Saturday, October 31st. I told Leah that since she couldn't go trick or treating this year that maybe the animals would do some tricks for her ; -) - which some did! and she got a couple treats - a stuffed panda and an ice cream bar!
We rode what they call the "subway" (not like our subways) for the first time - it's actually elevated, not below ground! We had to take 2 taxis to the train station because they are pretty strict about only 4 passengers in a taxi and there were 6 of us. The subway wasn't bad to ride, we had to stand the first part, then after we switched to a different line, we were able to get seats. We're still not ready to try it on our own, but I don't think it would be hard to learn, and would cost a lot less to get into Shanghai than a taxi!
We took the train to an area called Xujiahui first. This is a HUGE shopping area and the train station was underneath it all! Five main roads meet with a large mall at each
intersection. We went into the one called Pacific Digital Plaza which was all electronics. We were able to find an extra battery for Leah's camera, looked around a little, then went for lunch. We went next door to the basement of the MetroCity Mall where there was a food court and ate at Burger King!
After lunch, we finally headed for the zoo - again in 2 taxis!It was right in the middle of a very developed area, it reminded me of going to the Cincinnati Zoo. Admission was 40RMB each, equivalent to about $5USD, so MUCH cheaper than going to the zoo at home! Once inside, it was very similar to the US zoos I've been to. There was a little train to ride around on, but we walked. The main thing that stood out to us was that, although the rules said NOT to feed the animals, people were feeding them quite a bit in the areas where they could throw things to them (like the bears). Normally in China, there are workers everywhere, but the zoo seemed to be lacking workers. You'd think they would have had employees standing there to enforce the No feeding rule!
The
park became a zoo in 1955 and I think some of the cages were original - funny how looking at some of the monkey cages reminded me of the story where Curious George goes to the zoo!
We probably only saw about 1/2 of the animals. My favorite was the giant panda since I had never seen one and really wanted to! Unfortunately, it was in a temporary enclosure which wasn't very nice, but it was still a treat to sit and watch the panda. It was much smaller than I expected. It would sit up and eat bamboo leaves for about 5 minutes, then lay down and rest for 5 minutes before getting up to eat again. I also enjoyed the goldfish corridor, which was a group of large fish tanks outdoors with all types of strange looking goldfish! The birds were also enjoyable to look at - so many pretty ones! Leah enjoyed feeding the goats.
The one giraffe was very entertaining, it liked Jacquie's balloon of Beauty Goat and was trying to lick it through the glass! The three monkeys sitting on the roof were acting like the 3 stooges! I don't remember what kind of monkeys
Goldfish
photo credit to Leah they were though.
We hope to go back sometime to see the rest of the animals, and there is another zoo in Shanghai called the Shanghai Wildlife Zoo.
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