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The Zoo Pages           

"Keep Wildlife in the Wild - NOT in high security prisons!!"

Zoopage 2

The list is alphabetical by Country, then City:
Chinese zoos A- H (Beijing to Hong Kong) on Zoopage 1; 
Chinese zoos J - Z (Jiaozuo to Zigong) on this page;  
Other Countries on Zoopage 3. 


Jiaozuo, Henan Province, PRC.

Visited July 1996.

The Jiaozuo Zoo consists of 16 identical menagerie cages purpose built in a block facing inwards in the shape of a horseshoe. The open part of the shoe was made up of the entrance gate and utility buildings. In the centre was a building which housed some utilities and a hippopotamus. The style of the buildings interestingly was the same as at Hanoi Zoo. Each measured about 4 metres wide and 3 metres deep. Concrete back and side walls and concrete floor with drainage channels. Iron bars as a front wall. None had any furniture, toys or equipment or any access to any other area. They were all clean and the animals appeared in reasonable physical health. Two cages contained two large zoochotic bears each. One had a lion, one a tiger, two had large birds of prey, one had a crane, one a leopard, one a passel of monkeys. There were also goats, camels, deer and various poultry. There was no parkland or garden. The zoo was totally bleak and miserable.

Outside this zoo was a large tent with a notice outside it advertising a variety of deformed creatures. The man in charge at first refused me entrance but was later persuaded by a five fold entrance fee. Inside were a dozen cages the size of beer crates containing a monkey, a guinea pig, a rabbit, some turtles and various hens and other birds. They were all claimed to be freaks of nature. The man demonstrated a rudimentary limb growing out of the backside of one of the chickens but I didn't stop to inspect the details of the others. There were half a dozen jars containing pickled human foetuses - siamese twins, extra limbs, spina bifida, anencephaly, etc. The man said the two headed dog had died and the woman who has born half snake was not here today. A young man outside later told me that this lady had never existed but looked good in the list of attractions. I think this must be the mobile freak show that is mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guide as being in Luoyang. Totally unacceptable.

Jinan, Shandong Province, PRC.

Jinan is the provincial capital of Shandong, a province South of the Yellow River with a population of 75 million. Jinnui (Golden Cow or Ox) Park is a quite large, fairly standard Chinese zoo. There is a huge statue of a mythological cow. The zoo's telephone number is listed as 53362 and the entrance fee is 10 yuan. I visited in July 1996. It is a beautiful though unkempt park with numerous children's amusements and lots of drink and snack stalls, etc.. According to the CBSG Global Zoo Directory, there are 227 birds of 41 species and 406 mammals of 56 species.

There was much litter and neglect everywhere. A good side effect of this was the growth of natural scrub in some of the larger enclosures such as the monkey and the bear pits - but inspection of the undergrowth revealed piles of filth and litter. I didn't enter the reptile area because of an extra charge and lack of time. I did pay extra for the dog and cat area and wished I hadn't as it was appalling. It was large and well stocked mainly with dogs but also some cats. The usual barren concrete cells with only a small wooden box for shelter and most of the dogs exhibiting "fear/aggression" behaviour. Members of the public delighted in taunting the animals, especially the big ones (e.g. German Shepherds). I saw one dog, some kind of a deer hound, I think, being dragged out dead - I can but hope he died peacefully after a long and happy old age.

There were two pandas in a large featureless room but it was air-conditioned and they were eating bamboo. Three Asian elephants thankfully not chained but in small cages measuring about two by one and a half elephant lengths - there was an outside area but it was closed. There were three tigers in separate barren cages and a solitary lion. The giraffe was loose in a small paddock. Lots of deer in small, muddy enclosures. There were pony rides - the ponies looked in good condition. The photography area consisted of stuffed animals. I did not find a performance area.

There is now a new Safari Park in Jinan which we have not yet visited - it received a large consignment of animals from South Africa in November 1999.

Jining, Shandong Province, PRC.

Jining is a town with a population of 8 million if you include its surrounding counties which include Qu Fu, the birth place of Confucius, and Tai Shan, the highest mountain in Shandong and one of China's most holy mountains.

Jining Peoples' Park, telephone 3779 2511. Unusually, the animals were not spread about in the park but were all in one end. One entrance fee to get into the park and one to enter the high security area. The GZD lists 538 mammals of 21 species but I counted only 43 animals of 19 species. I suspect the GZD has a typo. This is a horrid little zoo - not the worst but really not nice. 2 large owls, 2 vultures, 1 camel, 5 macaques, 1 brown bear, 2 black bears, 1 leopard, 1 decrepit lion, 1 pony, 12 Cervus Nippon, 1 Pere David deer, 1 boar, 3 coypus, 1 porcupine, several medium sized raptors, 2 silver foxes, 2 skinny wolves (in separate cages each pacing frantically - each cage about two by one and a half wolf lengths).

Kunming, Yunnan Province, PRC.

I visited the Kunming Zoo in 1994, 1995, twice in 1997, once in 1998 and again in 2003.

1994:
My hosts implored me not to go as they said it was terrible but in fact it was by no means at the bottom of the league. Apart from the usual mud and concrete environments, the launching of gobs of sputum at the inmates and the poking of them with sticks and umbrellas, it was really not too bad. The animals looked well fed and cared for and there was no problem with hygiene. In other words the Victorian prison was reasonably well managed. There was a friendly tiger cub on a lead to have your photo taken with. There was the usual dog and cat section but I didn't have time to go in to it. The elephants for once were not chained. It was the first time I have seen zebras pacing stereotypically (remarkably fast). I've never seen red pandas in such good condition but even so you can see the tracks made by their stereotypic pacing. It is a fairly average zoo except for its "circus" which is a real shocker - on the scale of the Shenzhen photo area. The tiger is so arthritic it can't walk but is whipped until it jumps onto a table. In the streets of Kunming one can easily buy leopard skins, mountain sheep heads, bear paws, fluffy puppy dogs, loris, etc., etc.

12 January, 1997

I visited again. Beautiful early Spring day with cherry blossoms (yes - mid January!). Quite a few cages were under reconstruction. I was delighted to find that the "Circus Building" was closed, apparently permanently. Most things were much as before - dreadful litter, people throwing plastic bags and all sorts of rubbish into the monkey pit. But two incidents seared my memory and rendered sleep impossible.

The first was a young man in charge of the adolescent elephants who have a new very unimaginative elephant house. He was manoeuvring an elephant from the outside area to the night quarters - this was obviously his last as the others were already chained to the concrete in a small rooms. He repeatedly and quite unnecessarily kept hacking at the elephant's rump and ears with the sharp point of his bull-hook - don't tell me the elephant couldn't feel it, the poor animal was shuddering and jumping to get away but was obviously too frightened to complain. When he had finally got her into her room, he struck her repeatedly as hard as he could on the top of her head with the flat part of the bullhook (a steel bar) - there was a horribly cracking noise and the elephant bellowed out in pain - he then jumped on her shoulders and rode her round in circles in the tiny room. Then many more vicious jabs with the spike until she was in exactly the right position to fasten the chain round her leg. There is always scientific argument about the effect of the observer on what is being observed - his behaviour might have been better or worse because of the presence of a foreigner. But I believe he was ignoring me and carrying on his normal routine - this was despite my shouting and swearing at him. The crowd giggled when I shouted until I turned on them.

I then went to the old elephant house which was already shut up for the night - but a polite young man was keen to open the door and let me see the adult elephants plus the tiniest baby I have seen. As far as I could see, the new elephant house had no heating. Which may be better for the elephants than the antiquated coke burning stove and rusting conduction pipes which filled the old elephant house with acrid fumes.

At night all the animals are battened down. They are pushed into their small inside rooms and metal shutters are pulled down. One of the lions was roaring in such a pitiful way that I cannot get that sound of misery out of my mind. It went on and on and on. The kind of sound I would like to make when I am completely depressed - it was awful. What a thing to do to such a majestic animal!

A new and unhappy feature that I observed for the first time in a Chinese Zoo was the use of all the ponds (including one in the Children's Play Area) for fishing. The fish were caught on hooks suspended from bamboo poles - the hooks were removed and the fish were put back. At the end of the day each fish was caught and put in a net bag tied under the water - presumably for protection from predators (avian and human?).

The other new feature was a large aquarium.

Mention must be made of the lonely hippopotamus which "lives" in a tiny area with a tiny filthy pond and is made to beg for food. I should also mention the camel bellowing and spitting when it's mouth harness was being removed for the night.

The giant panda exhibit was closed - presumably the lucky panda has escaped to panda heaven.

Sunday July 20^th 1997

Park full very early with Tai Chi and other exercisers. Administrative block closed as it was a Sunday.
I was able to see why the elephants were being "trained". They were being used to be sat on or stood beside for photography purposes - mainly children. The same young mahout was in charge - I saw him kicking an elephant, although not very hard - presumably the elephant has "learned".
The performance area is still closed - it is being used as an additional elephant house.
See my Letter to the Director.  (No reply received.)
See Photos.

May 1998.
The original performance area is still closed but a new one has opened. I wasn't able to wait for a show but I was quite sufficiently distressed by seeing the tethered monkeys and birds and caged baby bear.
I saw the same mahout - his elephants are perfectly trained and he now has an easy job raking in the cash.
See Photos.

Thursday May 1st 2003.
After 10 years of local prosperity, this callously managed zoo has unfortunately not improved.
The only good development was that the performance area had been closed from the previous day because of the SARS epidemic - but this of course means that the animal performers now have nothing at all to relieve them from the hell of their confinement. See Photos.
The zoo is still filthy and full of rats. Many of the large mammals are perfect examples of zoochosis.  Altogether a very distressing afternoon's visit.  There is no excuse for this kind of situation.


Luan, Anhui Province, PRC
Visited on 3rd October 2002

Yet another horrid little zoo that should not be allowed to exist. Primitive, poorly maintained cages, miserable animals. I visited in the evening when there was a very noisy festival in the park with lots of banging of drums and clashing of cymbals and screeching of loudspeakers. A real little hell.
1 x tiger in 6m x 3m
1 x adolescent moon bear in 1 sq m.
1 x nanny goat with 2 children
1x deer
1 x python
2 guinea fowl
1 ostrich in 4m x 8m
several macaques on a small enclosed monkey mountain
2 x silver fox
1 x coypu
1 x porcupine
1 x binturong
1 x salamander
1 x crane
several peacocks, chickens and various other birds all in filthy cramped conditions
a lean-to full of white doves
a small cage with a dog which the staff told me was their tomorrow's lunch.

Luoyang, Henan Province, PRC

"Small, dismal zoo" according to Lonely Planet Guide. I visited the town in January 1997 but did not have an opportunity to go to the Zoo.

China Daily.  31st August 1998.  
A Manchurian tiger in the Wangcheng Park of Luoyang, a city in Central China's Henan Province, gave birth to seven baby tigers within twelve months, Xinhua reported over the weekend. The four newborn tigers are now one month old and all in good heath. The mother tiger gave birth to two male tigers and one female tiger on October 1, 1997. Manchurian tigers have been listed under the first grade of protection by the Chinese Government. There are only about 2,000 such tigers in the world.
You think this is a good story?  I don't.  The Zoo Tiger is NOT an endangered species.  These poor baby tigers have a miserable future in store for them.   Life long captivity at best.  Zoo tigers should be not be allowed to breed.   Increased efforts need to be made to preserve the tigers that are still living in their natural habitat.

Macau (Macao)  SAR, PRC

None of the animal welfare people in Hong Kong had heard of a Macao Zoo until a letter in a newspaper revealed the plight of Bobo, a moon bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) who had been seized by the customs (when he was destined for soup) and housed in the "Floral Garden Zoo". We made a visit on 15^th February 1997 which revealed that the Floral Garden was a municipal park which housed 6 rhesus monkeys, 3 goats, numerous doves and Bobo. The Chinese name of the park is Yi Lung Hau Gung Yuen - Two Dragon Throat Public Garden. The cages are dank, featureless and miserable but the animals looked reasonably clean and healthy. I spoke with several bystanders who all insisted that there was no other animal collection in Macao. They said there used to be animals in the nearby Liu Gau Fa Yuen but not for many years. I did not have time to talk with any officials.

It would be wonderful if we could find better homes for these animals.

Return visit in September 1997. All the animals are in worse temporary accommodation while new cells are constructed.

November 1997 - The good news is that Bobo's new cage is ready.
The bad news is that the new cage is not that good and will be permanent.

March 2000 - He has been joined by YuanYuan, a gift from Beijing!

May 2002 - He appears to be alone again.  He has not been desexed.
The Floral Garden has been much improved. The whole environment is vastly better than it used to be.
The cages are clean though uninspired.
The inmates are:
1 Francois' Langur.
2 goats on a 4 x 4m piece of concrete.
1 bear (see above)
several macaques
Peacocks, turtles, ducks, a swan and a heron.

There is now another animal collection in the Seac Pai Van Park on Coloane Island. Visited in May 2002.  Quite a pleasant, clean and well maintained environment - not making the mistake of being too ambitious.
A large walk-in aviary.
Black swans, white swans, chickens, turkeys, geese, parrots, kites, hornbills, magpies.
2 ostriches.
Red Panda
Cervus Nippon
Urocissa
Iguana
Saimiri sciureus (squirrel monkey)
Buffalo
Sus scorfa
Sow and piglets
Goats (6 adults, 2 young)
Masked Palm Civet
Tibetan Macaque
Black Gibbon

 
Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PRC

Red Mountain Forest Zoo - visited in November 1999.  This  is a new zoo built on a small hill in the North of the city. The old zoo on an island in Lake Xuanwu has been turned into a huge bird park - big aviaries - cockfighting shows daily at 9.30 and 2.30.
There is much beautiful space between exhibits but unfortunately the cages are Victorian - small plain concrete and iron with no attempts at enrichment, shelter, etc.

Inmates:
3 tigers
1 pair lions
coypus (babies running in an out of drainage channel)
porcupines
alopex lagopus (arctic fox) - 6 in cages within a cage
2 vulpes fulva
2 jaguars, one melanotic
2 leopards
bearpit - 1 bear
1 cuon alpinus (red dog)
neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard - not seen)
canis lupus
monkey hill
orangutan hall ("hall" just means indoor housing - sounds grand but is quite inadequate) - has an outside area but it appears unused
lion and tiger pit (not too bad for space) - white tigers, ligers, etc
camel hall, yak hall
song bird hill
deer park
giraffes
hippo pool (2 hippos)
zebra hall
baboon and mandrill hall
kangaroo hall
panda hall
children's corner - owls in tiny open cages

Beast Fight Ground (during our visit there was only one horse tended by a young man - he informed us that there were usually fights between various animals including bulls, sheep, cocks but the fights had recently been stopped.  He assured us that the fights would restart very soon).

Elephant Hall + performance area (performance observed - standard elephant humiliation show)

2 performing seals from Shanghai Wild Animal Park (Y5 entrance)

2 photography areas - camel and horse rides

Circus (large animal show - free of charge) 4 shows daily lasting half an hour. Show almost identical with the show at the Shanghai Zoo:
1. 2 lions, 2 tigers (one lion very skinny) - jumping through hoops, rolling on barrels, etc.
2. 5 performing dogs
3. 2 performing monkeys (audience loved the cycling - obviously first time they had seen this)
4. lion riding horse
5. 2 lions, 1 tiger on chute
6. goats, monkey on back, walking tight ropes
7. Finale of 5 moon bears wearing capes, rolling planks, basket ball, rotating spears, riding bikes, blowing trumpets and panpipes; monkeys with cymbals.

Click for Photos.

http://news.sohu.com/87/26/news203562687.shtml

Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, PRC

Visited June 2007.

I have been to Nanning several times but have never had time to go to its zoo. I have wanted to go for a long time because it was there that one of the Hong Kong ZBG Jaguar children died of diarrhoea (the other is still living in wretched conditions at the Guangzhou zoo).

A magnificent tropical park with lots of grass, mature trees, small lakes, etc. And some of the enclosures are reasonable when compared to those in other zoos.  But many are not, for example rows of featureless small concrete cages housing a leopard, a lion, a jaguar, a pair of terrified wolves, a terrified pig, etc, etc. Many grossly psychotic animals.

I was too early for the circus shows and was unable to wait because I had to catch a flight. But I did observe Moon Bear cubs out for a training session. One cub was being held in a handstand position by a young man while a young woman repeatedly struck hard at the cub's legs with a steel bar to make him keep them straight. Unfortunately I did not have a camera as this was an unplanned visit. I did not have time to stay for more than a few minutes and anyway after the woman  saw me she stopped doing it.

When poking my nose where I shouldn't I observed half hidden behind the bear den three Moon Bears still in their original bile farm cages. When such bears arrive at the Animals Asia Sanctuary they are immediately cut out of those cages as it is gross cruelty to leave them so appallingly confined. I enquired and was told they were kept in those cages because they were "crazy". No wonder they were crazy.  I was unable to ascertain whether they still had their bile catheters or open sinuses. For photos of such cages see:
AAF - China Bear Rescue

Neijiang, Sichuan Province, PRC.

In November 2001 we visited the Neijiang People's Park Zoo.
Yet another horrid little zoo which should not be allowed to exist. Tiny, dirty, featureless cages with no attempts at enrichment,  many cages without water, bars and fences rusted and dangerous, gates left open, visitors not supervised, etc, etc. 

• 2 porcupines.
• 1 out-of-his-mind brown bear.
• 1 moon bear (?ex bile bear).
• 1 ostrich.
• 2 dogs.
• several peacocks.
• 4 deer on concrete.
• 2 deer on concrete.
• 7 macaques.
• 1 female tiger.
• 1 female lion.
• 2 vultures.
• 1 owl.

From the Global Zoo Directory:
Neijiang People's Park
Neijiang, Sichuan
CHINA
Telephone: *3-750 Fax:  

In the Park were areas where mature trees had been felled to make way for grass and palm trees - we were told that this was to make the park look more "western".

Click for Photos of Neijiang.

Panyu, Guangdong Province, PRC.
We visited the Xiangjiang Safari Park in February 1998, January and February 1999, July 2000 and April and June 2006.  Xiangjiang means fragrant river.
It can be reached from Hong Kong by ferry or by bus - in each case the journey time is about 3 hours. 
Address:
Xiangjiang Safari Park,
Yingbin Road, Dashi Town,
Panyu City,
Guangzhou,
China.
Post code: 511430
Tel: + 86 20 8478 3333
Fax: + 86 20 8479 1003
E-mail: pyxjiang@public.guangzhou.gd.cn 
Zoo Director: Mr Li Mak - speaks fluent English:
Professor Li Yangwen, Senior Consultant;
Mr Dong Guixin, Vice General Manager.

The park is very large, well planned and laid out. Obviously a huge capital investment.
Performances are held several times during the day at each of five venues - these are the weak points as far as animal welfare is concerned - the worst is the White Tiger Show.

There are two sections. The first is a drive through Safari in a special closed window zoo bus which makes no stops, except to get through the double gates.   Here there are areas for camels, yaks, cheetahs, bears (sun, brown, moon all together), tigers, lions, cheetahs, zebras, emus, giraffes and assorted deer. This takes about 20 minutes. 

The Zoo section is much larger and is for walking but there are trams to hitch a ride on (for a fee).

The white tiger and lion exhibits were of a high standard. The lone panda had the usual featureless concrete cage that all zoo pandas have - but he did have an outside yard (which he was locked out of every time we have visited).

In 1998 we watched a Circus Performance - this was harrowing. I won't attempt to describe it - please look at the photos of 1998.  Fortunately this has now been closed.

The Elephant Performance is remarkable.  They moved freely with the visitors feeling them and feeding them. Sitting on an elephant costs 10 renminbi. They do all the usual elephant tricks and also some new ones - e.g. using their trunks and feet to "massage" volunteers from the audience. This mingling with the crowds is forbidden in USA - even the keepers are now not allowed in with the elephants. So this was very interesting. Behind the Performance Area is a fairly large corral - in 1999 I observed young lads in the guise of mahouts bullying the animals - chasing them and sticking the metal point of the bullhook frequently and aggressively into tender parts.  They are not chained but they live on a featureless hard mixed dirt and concrete surface surrounded by an electric fence which can be easily jumped by humans.

The photography area in 1999 was dreadful.  There were two tigers chained to tables being mercilessly tormented by their keepers - constantly struck and prodded to make them roar and wince, both in order to make the photographs more dramatic and just to pass the time for the keepers between customers. The baby bear was made to sit absolutely still. The camel and the pony were obviously well broken.

Click here for the photos of 1999. 

When I visited again on 18th July 2000 my main mission was to check up on the animals that came from South Africa in October 1999.  

I started by taking the bus round the "Safari by bus" part of the park and were very pleased to note that the buses are much improved since our last visit.  They are the only means of visiting this part of the park - private cars are not allowed.  They are clean; they are driven carefully; they have sealed windows, they observe the double locked gate system between sections;  they do not make stops during the tour.  All these are unusual features in Chinese zoos and are much to be applauded. But the restrictions made close observation and photography of the animals difficult - overall of course I was glad but it meant I was frustrated in my mission.
There were certainly a great many different species on display in a pleasant park - all seemed reasonably content and seemed to have more space than is usual at a zoo and they looked healthy and were showing natural behaviours. But I was not able to carry out my original intention of counting the numbers and checking them against the list of those that came from South Africa.

I then went on the "Walk Safari" - which is actually just walking around the cages as one normally does at a zoo.  The general "exhibits" were as before - quite up to international standards.   The Chimpanzee house was the same rectangular glass fronted shop window but at least their room was now filled with toys  - slides, swings, etc.  Indeed, most cages showed signs of enrichment programmes at work - another rarity in China.

The Circus Show which had so horrified us before has been discontinued.

The Photography Area is improved.  The Tigers are no longer there and I observed no hitting of the animals despite watching for some time.  But I cannot accept the animals being chained up like that for so long - there were a young Malaysian Sun Bear, 3 young Cheetahs, a Camel, a Horse, a couple of Monkeys and some Birds. Their minders were armed with broken off barbecue forks as before but were using them only to threaten (the animals did of course know the meaning of them).

The Parrot Show was standard - I loved the last item where the Parakeets had been trained to pick bank notes from people's hands and to prefer US dollars to Chinese!   The audience loved this and everyone wanted a shot.  The show was free but they must have made a lot of money!

The Elephant Show was the same as before - quite remarkable. The only difference this time was the erection of a barrier between the Elephants and the public - but a great deal of mingling went on all the same. And after the show it was wonderful to watch the young elephants running and cavorting and jumping in their swimming pool - and begging for bananas.  No bullhooks this time - the Elephants responded perfectly to commands given with a blunt steel nail concealed in the palm of the hand or with a long and sharpened thumbnail.

I didn't see the Sealion Show this time.  The White Tiger Show was a half hour of putting 15 subdued tigers through their paces - one of the highlights being jumping through a fiery hoop.  It would appear benign if you didn't know the training methods.  Their resting cages seemed grossly inadequate. 

I also didn't see the Crocodile Show.  This was a major omission because after the show, visitors go to the crocodile restaurant and from
where do you think they get the crocodile meat and handbags?  The crocodile area was on a vast scale similar to the Crocodile Farm in Hainan Island.  This must be a revenue spinner.

I was disappointed not to find the Servals, Caracals and Otters that were listed.  But I think most of the listed Herbivores were present in the Herbivore section of the safari park.

Finally a word about the latest addition to the park - the Polar Bear Exhibit. Well designed, easily on a par with Singapore and San Diego.  A grossly confined area for animals that must by nature roam huge distances but much better than the vast majority of captive Polar Bears have.  The three bears were tirelessly playing together, splashing in and out of the water.

We have to mention the visitors. Compared to other Chinese Zoos and compared to previous visits, the visitors were disciplined and respectful - none of the usual direct abuse.

Throughout the cages were clean and were provided with water and food, and in many cases, environmental enrichment programmes.

Photographs of July 2000

We visited again on 25th April 2006 at the request of "Australians for Animals" as they were concerned that this zoo was not a good destination for a shipment of 6 Koalas.
We took quite a lot of video and loads of digital stills. 
We did not uncover much evidence to help a bid to stop the
shipment. From a principle point of view we at AAPN are entirely against the whole concept of zoos and certainly of transporting animals from one country to another. BUT the zoo is of high standard. In Australia the only one I have seen that I would say was better is the Werribee.
The photography areas were not nearly as bad as six years ago. The only
boxing kangaroo was a large plastic rubbish container. The only Australian
animals were some Albino Bennet's Wallabies in fair sized field. There were
a few substandard monkey cages but the chimpanzee cage that we had objected to before had gone. They now have some very good new monkey "mountains" and "islands". Many of the enclosures are really world class.
There is a large area fenced off under construction marked as being for
Koalas and due to open at the end of June (which fits in with the quarantine
period). It is surrounded by thousands of eucalyptus trees - these were planted for ground cover when the park opened.
The drive in Safari section is now unfortunately open to private cars but when we were there the driving was of a high standard.  The bus provided is now an open train-like carriage.
The elephant show was the same as before.
The night safari has been closed and replaced by a theme park with roller
coasters, etc.
The Crocodile Park has been moved to an independent location.
There is a new night circus on the lines of Cirque Du Soleil (called Cirque
du Chimelung).  It is a very good show EXCEPT for the animal acts - dancing
hippos, monkeys, elephants, etc.
The worst thing was the White Tiger Show at the zoo in the afternoon.  There
was a disgusting act where they had wolves jumping over goats and though
fiery hoops. The white tigers were also doing all sorts of unnatural things.
At least they had all their teeth and claws.
You can see the pictures by clicking photos of 2006

The Koalas in question arrived in China as scheduled on 26th April 2006. They will go on exhibit when their new housing is completed at the end of June.
Visited again June 11th 2006.



Qingdao, Shandong Province, PRC.

Visit in 1994. Qingdao is the old German concession port and is a Special Economic Zone (like Shenzhen). When I said I wanted to visit the Qingdao Zoo, the local people said I would be disappointed. After my visit I told them that disappointing was not the right word - disgusting and disgraceful would be more accurate. I told my hosts they should be ashamed of having such an abuse centre in their lovely city.

Visited again in August 2003. This disgusting zoo has not improved. Indeed in some ways was worse. The circus area is an absolute disgrace. This zoo should be closed. Especially as there is a new zoo close by at Zu Shan in Huang Do. See photos

Shanghai, PRC.

Shanghai has a circus, a zoo, a safari park, two park menageries, and a dolphinarium.

1. The Shanghai Circus.

The first Panda I ever saw was in the Circus in Shanghai in 1978 - it was blowing a bugle, sliding down a chute and riding a bicycle. What a way to treat the "National Treasure"!  I saw a copy of the Giant Panda Stud Book - 125 pages long. It lists all captive Pandas in institutions throughout the world. For example, Shanghai Zoo has 35 names with the date of death against 34. Shanghai Circus has two with the date of death against one. London Zoo has one name - Ming Ming. The copy was obviously out of date but a new edition is being produced.

The Shanghai Circus has now dropped its animal acts and for circus you need to go to the zoo.

2. Shanghai Zoo. There are 3000 animals. I visited here in 1978, 1994 and several times in 1995 and 1996. Overall it is quite impressive. It is up to West European standards (although that is not saying much) apart from the circus display and the dog and cat section. There are many things that are wrong with it of course but generally it is well laid out and well maintained with mainly new quite well designed (by zoo standards) enclosures. There is little evidence of any attempts at behavioural enrichment or environmental enrichment from the animals' point of view (but plenty from humans' point of view - it is a beautiful almost Kew like park, a golf course until 1949). There are the usual dreadful well meaning things like trees painted on the concrete walls of cells, feeding troughs in the shape of toadstools and other such innovations which must impress the animals no end. There are also the usual banging on the bars and shouting at the animals to get a response - also the usual poking of sticks and lobbing gobs of sputum at them. Tour buses enter the park and go straight to the panda cage viewing none of the other exhibits. There are two pandas but only one is on display at a time. Some of the apes look sick but some had fairly large enclosures with outside areas. The elephants and the giraffes have more space than is usual in zoos. Live mice are fed to the snakes - it is dreadful to see the terrified mouse cowering and shaking in a corner with nowhere to hide while the snake digests its late colleague. The circus part is horrific. A blind tiger being made to snarl at a goat and another aged tiger riding on a horse's back. Three moon bears doing the usual silly things, a counting alsatian, a couple of miserable cycling macaques and a drugged python. All heart-rending, made all the worse by the complete indifference of all concerned. Fortunately no photography area.

Visited again May 1998 - I have visited this zoo many times - it does not improve.
I missed the performance this time - the shows are at 10.30, 11.30, 1300, 1430 and 1530. But from outside I could hear a lion and a goat having a dialogue and I could glimpse a tiger being "trained".
New features:
There are new koalas and kangaroos living in poor conditions.
There is ostrich racing and snake dancing.

Visit September 17th 1998.
I only had time to visit the appalling "Pets" area and the ghastly "Performance Area".  This time I arrived at 11.20.  They were not sticking to the times - there appeared to be a schedule of ten minutes of performances followed by ten minutes break.  I saw the second half of one performance and then the first half of the next one.
When standing at the back of the auditorium it is possible to lean over and see the animals in their waiting cages.  The audience spent the interval throwing food and other objects at the animals.  Some animals were tethered to stakes and others were in small cages. Kicking and beating of the animals by the staff could be easily observed - no one appeared upset by this.
This is a description of the acts:
1. Monkeys doing handstands on goats' backs while the goats were standing with all four feet on the top of a vase on a tightrope.
2. Moon Bear walking on hind legs then cycling round and round the arena for food rewards.
3. Dog picking out numbers (either two or three depending on the number of taps under his chin).
4. Monkey shooting basket ball hoops then cycling - frequent whippings. Much laughter amongst the audience when the monkeys fell off their bikes when trying to avoid being hit.
5. Lethargic toothless tiger pulling a small cart with a young man in it.  Constant whipping.
6. Lioness and tiger using a slide then riding on horseback.
Please see photographs.

Visit July 5th 2000.
The overall management of this zoo seems to have improved. The same inadequate cages, the same abusive shows, the same lack of any attempt at enrichment but everything in good repair, all the animals with water bowls full and looking clean and physically healthy.

3. Shanghai Wild Animal Park opened in 1995. This is a massive enterprise in Nanhui County in the Shanghai new area of Pudong. I made two visits at the end of 1995.

There are three ways of getting there from downtown Shanghai.

1. Book a day trip through your hotel or travel agent. Fee for this is RMB80 (for locals, anyway).

2. Board a bus which leaves 668 Guang Jung Road every half hour.

3. Go by hire car or taxi. The round trip taxi ride from the centre of town cost US$50.

On my both my visits I took a taxi. The route is on very good newly built highways over the suspension bridge out of old Shanghai into the vast new town of Pudong, right through all the new industrial and housing areas until almost at the sea and the modern urban blights give way to paddy fields, traditional villages, etc. On my first visit the Park was not yet officially open but I had arranged a private visit. We were greeted very cordially by Mr Zhang Ci Zu, Chief Engineer and Vice Executive President of Shanghai Wild Animal Park Development Limited and his deputy Mr Xie. The Company is a Joint Venture between the Chinese Ministry of Forestry and the Shanghai Municipal Government. The town address of the Company is 231 Nanjing Road West, Shanghai 20003 (tel: +86 21 327 0332 or 803 6161, fax: 327 2809). Mr Zhang's home telephone is 242 0990).They insisted on serving lunch to us and our driver - rice, tofu, green beans, cucumber (and fried chicken feet).

The small animals come from other Chinese zoos and the large animals are being imported by the China Wild Animals Protection Association.  There will be no feeding of live chickens to the tigers because of the difficulty of ensuring that the chickens do not harbour pathogenic organisms. They intend to concentrate on herbivores with just a few others to attract the crowds - they will have a panda, big cats, golden lion tamarins, etc.

The budget is US$27.4 million. It is to have 13,000 animals on the 187 hectare (462 acre) site. The new Disney Zoo in Florida will be 500 acres. The old Bronx Zoo is 240 acres. It is a completely flat site of former agricultural land. Most of the area is laid out as parkland through which the public can drive either in their own cars or in a Park Bus. There is also a veterinary hospital, a restaurant, an amusement park, an area to display pets (menagerie style) and sell pets, an animal training area and an animal show area. Mr Zhang said he did not know if there will be a photography area but he made suitable shocked noises during my description of the Shenzhen one. He said their main aim is conservation.

I made a second visit to the Safari Park because of a newspaper report after the official opening of chaos in the park with police cars driving through at speed with lights and sirens overtaking slow private cars and minibuses. I paid US$30 entrance fee. This was foolish. I was led to believe that this fee allowed me to be driven round the Park in the taxi. However it only allowed me to park the taxi in the car park. The fee also included admission to the zoo for myself and the taxidriver. If I had known, I would have told the taxi driver to wait outside - in which case my admission fee would only have been US$9. The official entrance fee is US$12 but is reduced for the current soft opening (local people are charged even less).

Some private cars are allowed to drive through the park but I think this may be a matter of privilege. An English speaking guide was offered who was very pretty but I could not discover even one English word that she could either understand or speak. She would have cost US$5. The signs are all in English so there was no problem finding one's way around.

I boarded a minibus and we set off. My fellow passengers enjoyed themselves hugely laughing and shouting and throwing things at the petrified creatures outside. The enclosures are rather small and featureless. It was a sunny dry day but I fear it will become a quagmire in rainy weather - the grass seems to have been worn out already and most of the newly planted trees look dead (you can't plant trees at the beginning of the dry season unless you water them). The road through the enclosures is not paved - so clouds of dust after every vehicle. The elephants and the giraffes were in standard menagerie cages. The tigers and lions were free to roam around their small bare field. The bears shared their field with some monkeys. Two large rhinos shared the largest area with lots of other ungulates.

After the minibus trip I walked to the circus area (not show time) and the open air stadium (not completed). Nearby are three pandas in a standard though modern menagerie cage - and some red pandas.

China Daily 19th November 1999
Park safety rises after tigers kill man. by Wan Lixin, China Daily staff.
Shanghai:
The Safari Park in Shanghai has tightened its safety regulations in the wake of the death of a bus driver mauled by three tigers.
From now on, only vehicles with special permits will be allowed to enter the tiger habitat, it was agreed yesterday at an emergency meeting of the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.
Despite Wednesday's tragedy, the park was operating normally yesterday; visitor numbers were as high as usual and most visitors interviewed did not even know the accident had happened.
All vehicles entering the tiger area will in future be equipped with modern communication tools and given regular mechanical check-ups, the meeting agreed.
And more warning signs will be placed in the tiger areas.
The practice of allowing tourists to pose for pictures with beasts of prey has also been discontinued.
Details concerning responsibility and arrangements for the victim's family in the aftermath of the accident are under discussion. They are being worked out by the park authorities and the victim's employer, the Shanghai Long-distance Bus Company.
On Wednesday morning at about 10.30, Xu Weixing, a bus driver in his forties, ventured outside his bus to urge another bus in front of him to move on.
His bus was towing another broken-down bus at the time.
The buses, 13 in all, were hired by the Shuren Middle School in Yangpu District for an outing.
Xu was immediately pounced on by three Manchurian tigers all about two years old.
The tigers dragged him to a patch of lawn where he was severely mauled.
A rescue team resorted to throwing stones and iron bars in a vain attempt to disperse the tigers. Only when the team drove three motor vehicles straight at the tigers did they release Xu. The victim was pronounced dead on the way to Nanhui County Central Hospital. His death was due to excessive bleeding and respiratory damage after suffering extensive wounds.

South China Morning Post 19th November 1999
Associated Press in Shanghai
A bus driver was mauled to death by tigers at a Shanghai safari park as children looked on helplessly
Four tigers attacked Xu Wei-xing, 42, when he got out of his bus in a tiger pen that covers several hectares at the Shanghai World Animals Park.
It took animal keepers 30 minutes to retrieve Xu, who died at a hospital within an hour of the attack on Wednesday.
"Bites to his neck severed the main arteries, so he died from loss of blood," the park manager said.
The safari park is home to the last Siberian tigers and is trying to breed them. Only a few hundred live in the wild in northeastern China and the Russian Far East.
Xu drove into the pen after one of 13 buses carrying the students broke down.
He attached his own bus to the crippled vehicle and pulled it towards the exit before climbing down to ask a third bus to clear the road.
The manager said the attack was unrelated to the park's practice in past years of selling chickens and small sheep to visitors, who would throw the live animals from vehicle windows to feed the tigers.
"We stopped that. The tigers were defending themselves from a perceived intruder," the manager said.
The Xinmin Evening News said no one visiting the park had been seriously harmed before although there had been many incidents of visitors being frightened in close calls since it opened in November 1995.
On Tuesday, a young tiger at the park took the head of a six-year-old girl in its teeth as she posed for a photograph.
Her father used his hands to open the 50Kg animal's jaws and the girl escaped serious injury.
The report said visitors were allowed to stand close to the one-year-old tiger, which is relatively accustomed to human contact, adding the girl got "too close".

 South China Morning Post  6th October 2000
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Shanghai
Four-year-old Zhang Haiyi screams with delight and claps his hands as the starting gun goes off, and the black bears in romper suits start racing bicycles in the circus ring below.
More than 20,000 people a day visited the Shanghai Wild Animal Park during the National Day holiday and many watched a circus show featuring elephants playing football and black bears in frilly dresses roller skating.
Haiyi, who has come with his mother from Luoyang in Henan province to watch the show, thinks the bears are "very funny".
Zoo organisers called it the first China National Wild Animal Sports Show and brought in animals from as far as Inner Mongolia in the far north and Yunnan province in the deep south.
Asiatic black bears, one of the world's most endangered species, are the stars of the show because they are easy to train once they have had their claws removed and their teeth chopped back. They roller-skate, play basketball, race on bicycles and stand on balls as their trainers prod them with sticks or pull them by strings attached to their muzzles.
They take a year to train and Tan Zihua, who supervises the animal training at the Shanghai Park, said there was no cruelty.
"We start with the bears when they are very young, and for the individual who trains them it's like having a child," he said.
Mr Tan was perplexed by the idea that training bears for circus acts might be thought of as cruel and vigorously denied that the animals, who are forced to train every day for their circus performances, are badly treated.
But Amy Chow, of Hong Kong's Society for the Protection of Animals, said there was no animal welfare law or non-governmental animal welfare organisation in China, which made it harder to draw attention to the animals' plight.
"There is nothing educational or amusing in the spectacle of animals being subjected to ridicule in a circus ring. Beautiful creatures, endangered in the wild, should be protected by man, not stripped of their dignity for human amusement," she said.
In China there are still large numbers of black bears in northern Heilongjiang province and remote areas of Yunnan. Many are sent to work in circuses or farmed for their bile which is used in Chinese medicine.
Animal rights activist Jill Robinson, who has spearheaded a campaign to get the Chinese Government to stop bear-farming, said many bears on bile farms spent up to 20 years in tiny wire cages with catheter implants attached to their gall bladders.
Ms Robinson, of the Animals Asia Foundation, signed an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department in July to release 500 bears from farms and work towards the eventual abolition of bear farming.
When she started her campaign to improve the plight of bears in 1993 there were 10,000 being farmed nationwide. According to national statistics, that number has now fallen to 6,992.
Ms Robinson said awareness of animal rights was gradually changing. But for the bears performing in the Shanghai show, which runs until the end of November, the changes are unlikely to come fast enough.

4. I went to the Peace Park because I was told there was an aquarium. There was no aquarium but there was a zoo and a dolphinarium. Moth eaten lions, tigers, leopards, monkeys and deer in Victorian menagerie cages being poked, shouted and spat at. The dolphinarium had 7 dolphins in small concrete tanks. I arrived just at the right time for the Sunday afternoon show - only two dolphins actually performed. They are wonderful long suffering devoted creatures. The stands were packed with children who were really enjoying themselves - although most seemed to prefer the warm up clown, acrobat and magician acts.

5. Yeung Po Park in North East Shanghai. We went there on a Saturday - another squalid little collection of moth eaten deer and monkeys and bored sick lions, tigers, etc. tucked away in a corner of rather an attractive small public park.

6. Qian Dao (Thousand Island) Lake, Chunan County, Zhejiang Province - just South of Shanghai. I did not have time to go but it sounds an interesting concept. Lots of small animals including endangered species have been put on these hundreds of islands and there they all live doing their thing as in the Galapagos Islands. People hire rowboats and can observe the animals from the water but cannot go ashore.

Shantao, Guangdong Province, PRC
Zhongshan Park Zoo
Visited September 2004. A typical miserable little add-on to an otherwise very pleasant public park.
All the exhibits were dank and squalid.

Many monkeys, mainly rhesus macaques.
Two cages with two dogs each. Many birds including peacocks, cranes, geese, doves, eagles, etc.
One  mule.
Three deer.
One black bear.
One otter in 1m x 05m x 0.5m with no water.
One porcupine.
One lion.

A Performing Area with one dog, one lion, one tiger, one emaciated horse, six monkeys.  Performances only on Sundays - the rest of the week they remain in their tiny "transport cages".

An Amphibious Hall with snakes, turtles and frogs in pathetically inadequate boxes.

An Amusing Garden or Teasing Paradise with goats, rabbits, etc.

Click for Photos.

Shenyang, Liaoning Province, PRC.

SURVEY ON THE CURRENT CONDITION OF ANIMALS IMPORTED FROM SOUTH AFRICA IN SHENYANG ZOO
By Dr.Aster L. Zhang,  Program assistant of IFAW-China Office
During Oct.27~28, I, Aster L. Zhang (Program Assistant of IFAW-China Office), investigated the living condition, current mental and physical condition of the animals imported from South Africa by Shenyang Forest and Wildlife Park (the former Shenyang Zoo). I visited the zoo and spent a day in the place where they are keeping the animals during the winter. The director of the park, feeders, and staffs were called on.
The Shenyang Forest and Wildlife Park was organised by Shenyang Zoo and a private real estate company. The private company invests in funds and the zoo provides techniques. Twenty giraffes, thirty springboks and gemsboks were imported from South Africa this month, and another ten African lions would be delivered from South Africa to Shenyang by air next month. All of the animals cost over $2,000,000 USD.
The giraffes and gazelles arrived at Shenyang in Oct 23rd by air. The CAAC permitted the flight flying directly from South Africa to Shenyang for the safety of the animals, although there was no flight course before. The park hired a new place for these animals, far away from the downtown area, quiet and no visitors. They also bought two new stoves to warm the room for animals during the winter. The room for the giraffes was 400 square meters, and a 200 square meters enclosure was built for their out door activity. 
Another two rooms about 200 square meters each, with smaller enclosures, were built for gazelles. All of these buildings were rented temporarily, especially for the animals from South Africa to live through this winter, and there was no visitor during this period. A new savanna wildlife park with large enclosure was building in the countryside of Shenyang City, and
would be opened before next summer. The animals will relocate to the Savanna Park.
The food of the animals was fine alfalfa. The raiser also used apple and carrot as extra feedstuff. Some fresh elm leaves were given to the animals, which they preferred very much. The giraffes and gazelles started to eat about 2 hours after arrived at their new room. Now, 5 days later, raisers could give the dry alfalfa to giraffes by hand and could touch the head of
some individuals. The springboks and gemsboks were still a little bit cowish, and their enclosure was covered with cloth. People were forbidden to get close up the enclosures except the raisers. A baby gazelle was born in Oct 27, 4 days after arrival at Shenyang. The temperature was kept at between 16 to 18 centigrade inside the room and the room and enclosure for giraffes was cleaned once a day. But the rooms for springboks and gemsboks
haven't been cleaned since last Tuesday, for the outdoor enclosure for them haven't been finished until this weekend.
The director of the park, named Yi Liu, promised that they would not use the animals to do any performances, for which disobeyed their original intention. He want to build the savanna park as an environmental educational base for local people, where people could see animals living in a place similar with their original habitat. He also agreed that it's cruel to using living animals to feed carnivores, and he promised it wouldn't be happened in his wildlife park.
Mr. Liu worried that whether their lions could withstand the cold weather during the trip. The weather of Shenyang, in north China, became colder since last week. I didn't find the room with central heating for lions this time, so I wonder that whether they have prepared for the delivery of the coming animals. I told Mr. Liu my suggestion that they'd better delay the delivery of lions till next spring. I wish that someone concerned in South Africa had stopped freighting the lions to Shenyang until next spring.

Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, PRC.

Visits 1993, 1994 and 1995 and 2000 and 2007.
Tel: 6622888.  Fax: 6622333.
Address: Xili Lake East, Shenzhen

Xili Lake Wild Animal Park was the first to be opened of the new Safari Parks in China. The concept sounded good but it has so far not turned out well. For example, although the bears have quite a large enclosure, they are mostly confined to a small part of it by electric fencing so that they can be viewed conveniently. Again, the elephants have a large paddock but are kept chained in a corner - in addition, they are made to do demeaning tricks. When we approached the hippopotamus pool, the keepers beat the animals with bamboo poles to force them out of the water so that we could see them better. There are also regular demeaning and abusive performance shows but the worst feature is the photography area: drugged, declawed, detoothed tigers are struck on the mouth to make them snarl while the client sits beside them looking triumphant; a bear is made to stand up and snarl by the owner pulling a string that goes over a pulley and down to a ring in his upper lip; a terrified deer is held down while children are sat on it. Live chickens are on sale for ¥40 so that visitors could feed them to the white tigers. The zookeeper tried to persuade me to pay ¥200 to buy a rabbit for the same purpose - he said it was great fun (10th January 2000).

The 6 Cheetahs that arrived from South Africa at the end of 1999 have a reasonably large, by Chinese standards, enclosure on a piece of scrubby hillside - but they have no running area, a facility that most zoos give to these agile beasts.

Statistics: 1,200,000 square metres. 300 species.  10,000 animals.

"South China Morning Post - Wednesday December 24 1997 http://www.scmp.com/news/
by SHIRLEY KWOK
Animal welfare workers yesterday urged a boycott of a Shenzhen zoo after the South China Morning Post exposed its ill-treatment of animals.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare urged tourists and travel agents not to visit Shenzhen Xili Safari Park.
The appeal was made after the groups, alerted by a Sunday Morning Post report, visited the park and found animals, including endangered species, being exploited.
The Post toured the park last month and saw bloody horse fights, a parade of bears with their nostrils ripped open by metal rings and monkeys forced to dance on tightropes.
Some of the animals came from the old Lai Chi Kok zoo.
The groups said that the park's bosses had refused to meet them.
A safari park spokesman denied it had abused animals and that horse fighting had been stopped.
'The appeal for a boycott is too radical. Animals will be the final victims if fewer visitors come to our park,' he said."

There are half hour Circus Performances twice a day. The usual acts: tigers tight rope walking and jumping through fiery hoops; bears twirling burning poles, monkeys doing hand stands, etc.
Also daily Elephant, Sea Lion and Bird Shows. 
But the highlight is the "Animals' Gala Greeting Y2K" daily on weekdays and twice daily at weekends and public holidays. It is the most appallingly tacky show imaginable but apparently much appreciated by the audience. This is the description in the park brochure:
" This performance is exciting for its combination of artistic performance and entertainment including the application of sound, lighting and electronic effect, acrobatics, magic, dancing and animal taming.
The program reveals the exhilaration of the wide animal kingdom at the advent of the new century.  This large performance employs some 100 species and 1000 animals. It is composed of 6 parts: 
Prelude: Wild Exhilaration;  Act2: Heading for the New Century; Act 3 Prime Time of the Birds; Act 4: Gathering of the heroes; Act 5: Wedding of the Century; Act 6: Greeting the New Century.  
It is really a rare wonder with so many birds, butterflies, animal stars performing. 
Major Programs of Animal's Gala Greeting Y2K:
1.Wild Dancing of the Great Dragon. 2. Elephants standing on Head.  3. Wedding of the Black Bear.  4. Horse Team Acrobatics. 5. Man dancing with Snakes. 6. Monkey Acrobatics.  7. Wolf jumping through Flaming Circles.  8. Boxing between Man and Bear.  9. Monkey firing the Cannon.  10. Butterfly Dance. 11. Unique Skill of Elephant.  12.  Cranes Flying. 13.  Tiger changed into Belle.  14. Black Bear Model.  15. Peacock Dance. 16. Pigeons Delivering Letters.  17. Unique Skill of Elephant. 18. Stunt Cycling by Black Bear.
In this interesting, grand and spectacular performance, you feel the sense of "wild life and pure nature". "

Visited again in January 2007. Some of the worst features have gone. The layout of the park has been re-organised for the better. But many new featureless unacceptable menagerie-type cages have been built.
The performing bears and monkeys are still there and suffering.
Two animals were particularly upsetting:
An adolescent Orang Utan locked in a small featureless room and an old Snow Leopard exposed in a bare open cage.

for Photos.

Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, PRC.

Visit in September 1995. Standard Chinese menagerie zoo.

Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

I am told that there are about 10 zoos in Taiwan,  mainly small and very poor. The Taipei zoo is reputedly far and away the best. In 1995 I visited the East Coast resort city of Hualien and was delighted to find that there was no zoo.

I visited the Taipei Zoo on two occasions in May 1996. The zoo is busy with school groups and groups of elderly people. It has a large, attractive, well laid out site. There are walks through the woods to view-points on small hills within the site. Many of the exhibits are of modern design with moats, waterfalls, trees, shrubbery and grass. Many, however, are traditional concrete and iron menagerie cages. The trees and shrubs are labelled as in a botanic garden. All is well maintained and clean and the animals seem healthy apart from a number of nasty cases of Zoochosis. The cages were generally reasonably large compared with other Asian zoos but, considering that there is a lot of unused open space for the humans to wander around in, the animals could be given much more space.

The elephants had open spaces separated by moats and artificial rocks. The space was pretty small but at least they were not chained. The worst example of Zoochosis was the "Formosan Black Bear" (Selenarctos thibetanus).

The most distressing thing for me was the behaviour of the school children. They were charging around climbing over the barriers, shouting at the animals and throwing food, stones, etc.. No one, except me, tried to stop them.

The Nocturnal Animal House is a real house of zoochotic horrors. It would be good if someone could go there with a night video camera. It is an interesting two storey building containing prison cells for nocturnal animals. It is possible to see the activity of animals that are usually only seen dozing in a corner. The other good thing is that because of double glazing and the lighting, the animals are not aware of being watched. The terrible thing is that the size of the cages is woefully inadequate for the foxes, cats (bobcat, lynx, serval, clouded leopard, ocelot,), raccoons, civets, etc. who are all frantically stereotypically pacing.

I did not see a photography area. There was a performance area with a notice saying five shows a day at hourly intervals but there was no activity while I was there and there were no holding cages or any circus paraphernalia.

On an old brochure there is a picture of a polar bear but there is a newly built unoccupied cage at that place. There is a new building called the Animal Medical Centre. The animals there were crowded in featureless cells - I wondered if it was being used as a holding area rather than a hospital.

All in all - probably better than the London Zoo, much better than the Chinese Mainland zoos, nowhere approaching the Singapore zoo.

I revisited the Taipei Zoo in December, 1997.  Changes:
A very good new Education Centre has been built - this kind of thing should replace the live exhibits. Children can learn far more about animals from the educational displays than they can by seeing imprisoned wild beasts.
There is a new nocturnal animals house for local fauna - not as bad as the original one. The original one unfortunately is still there in all its horror. I tried to take some photographs but my camera was not up to the challenge - but this place really should be exposed to the world.
There had obviously been a mass purchase of electrified wire and most of the animals had their already limited space limited still further by festooned wiring.
The behaviour of the children was as bad as ever - and their teachers were no better. I got very angry again! I was very pleased to see that this problem has been recognised as far as the gorillas are concerned - a new fence with screening shrubs has been put up and special thick glass viewing areas have been constructed. But there were no keepers or officials trying to control the children in front of the other animals - one class was lined up inside the perimeter fence of the lions' den for a group photo.

There is a Safari Park just South of Taipei City called Leofoo Park (Leo is Latin for lion and Foo is Chinese for tiger). I visited in February 1998 on a rainy, foggy day. There were peach, cherry and cotton trees in blossom. The Zoo and Safari Park is just one section of a giant amusement park - other sections are "Wild West", "Arabian Kingdom" and "South Pacific".  The entrance ticket is very expensive at US$23 but includes entry to all sections.   Just through the entrance to the zoo section there are the usual kiosks selling souvenirs and drinks and there is a petting zoo and camel rides. A young goat was steadily eating a cardboard box with no one paying any attention.  You then choose one of three walks, the shortest of which was mostly covered,   which take you round the zoo to the start of the safari section.  The zoo part was all open fields protected by moats - this is not a menagerie zoo.  The unfortunate thing was that the fields are all mud - except for the elephant field which was concrete. There were 8 white rhinos, 1 elephant, 5 giraffes, peacocks, cranes, pelicans, nalgais, formosan deer (one with some nasty sores), ostriches, moufflons, elands, american elk, american bison, goats, zebras and sambar deer. A diesel bus with openable windows then takes you on a ten minute ride through the safari section - it doesn't stop. A tape recorder plays a commentary when passing through each zone, complete with animal sounds. The areas for the animals in the safari section were really quite good.  There were zones for:  moon bears complete with pools and climbing frames;  bengal tigers with a fenced off area for a mother and baby; alaskan brown bears mixed with baboons all living in muddy squalor, many with sores on their skin; eight lions.  The visitors were well behaved and did not attempt to open the windows or harass the animals in any way. It was interesting that all the gates between the sections were open all the time - a laid back approach to safety.
As zoos go, really not too bad. See here for photos.

There is also a small zoo West of Taipei in Hsinchu City.
I visited in February 1998 on the same day as I visited Leofoo. Hsinchu City Zoo is quite certainly in the bottom category of zoos. Many of the "exhibits" are totally unacceptable by any civilised standard.  And they cannot be excused for lack of money as the town is prosperous and money has recently been spent on landscaping the park. This is an old fashioned menagerie zoo of the worst type.  Having said that, it did have some redeeming features -. it was quite clean, there were no performance or photography areas and the visitors were well behaved.

Inmates:
2 hippos, masked palm civets, donkeys, ostriches, owls, ducks, camels, deer , chickens, cranes, peacocks, pheasants, nepal kalij (I only know that from the label - and I may have labelled the wrong bird in the photos), doves, lamas, pelicans, ponies, 2 tigers, 2 sunbears, formosan macaque, wild boar, white fallow deer, several orangutans   (difficult to count in their dark dank dungeons), 2 snow leopards, some ring-tailed lemurs and a gibbon. There was a dreadful holding area at the back with macaques crammed in small containers.

Two of the orangutans had a piece of sacking which they had wrapped round themselves for warmth. One of them was eating a plastic bottle - unfortunately photography was very difficult because of the bars and the dark of their cages. Some of these miserable cages were actually newly built - 3 x 4 x 3 metres - no toys, no climbing frames, no enrichment whatever. All totally featureless. Presumably these orangutans were ex-pets, bought as babies from Borneo.

The snow leopards had a new mesh metal cage raised off the ground with no internal features, no shelter and no privacy - approx. 1 x 2 x 2 metres.

The two sunbears were involved in a frantic stereotypic routine in their exposed and featureless concrete yard (approx. 12 x 5 metres plus chamber at the back).

The five wild boars were in a typical unacceptable concrete menagerie 6 x 6 metres.


I visited Hsinchu again in July 1999. Some of the more rusted cages had been replaced by shiny new steel ones - but to the same miserable specifications. The same animals were staring out in the same gross misery. The only improvement was that the snow leopards have gone.  Who knows what suffering they endured before they went or how they went or where they are now and what they are now suffering.  The sunbears, tigers and lions were out of view sheltering from the heat. The lemurs and the civets were suffering from severe skin disease, probably sarcoptic mange.

More details on the Hsinchu photo page. See also: Letter to the Mayor of Hsinchu.
May 2000 - there is news that the City and the zoo management have heeded international pressure and are redesigning the zoo.  This, of course, is not as good as closure but is much better than allowing the current dreadful conditions to continue.

Yehliu Ocean World (click for more details and photographs) lies 45 minutes North of Taipei by taxi and  houses some 21 tigers abandoned in 1994 by a Russian Circus.  Their conditions are wretched.   They deserve to be rescued. There is also a Sun Bear. There are 6 permanent structures measuring about 5 x 4 x 5 metres - 2 tigers per cage, with an extra one in a tiny walled off area at the back of one of them. There are 8 dilapidated containers which house the rest.
WSPA is making a big effort to have these wretched animals relocated.

There is a proposal currently before the Taipei City Council to build a new Ocean World in Taipei.  Letters of objection should be sent to the Mayor - for more details, contact the Life Conservation Association or EAST.

Wuhan, Hubei Province, PRC.
Visited in June 1997 during a major thunderstorm. Usual story of beautiful park, dismal cages and wretched animals. Particularly upsetting was the polar bear housed in an ordinary square concrete cage. The weather being what it was there were very few people around but those that were there were doing their best to harass the animals by shouting at them and banging on their bars. The big male chimpanzee was throwing himself at the walls, banging on his doors and masturbating with his foot - one shout from the keeper and he stopped at once and sat dejected in a corner.

Beijing Youth Daily 2nd March 1998 
A baby African elephant was severely burnt in the Wuhan Zoo recently. Baby elephant Ahai, less than one year old, was bought by the zoo for 190,000 yuan (US$23,750) on 17th October 1997.  On Nov. 19th, 1997, he fell onto the new heating unit, which the zoo just put in the middle of the elephant enclosure without installing any guard rails. Third degree burns covered 25 percent of his body. He was on the up to 70 degree heating unit for at least 6 hours. Part of his body was completely charred. After the incident, the Wuhan zoo tried to cover up, claiming Ahai had got "skin disease".  Due to their failure to give him immediate medical attention, part of his body is infected."

Wuhan now has a new Wild Animal Park which we haven't visited.  But we have seen photographs of a show where tigers are given live cows to play with and eat (February 2001). This practice seems to flourish despite having being outlawed by the Central Government.

Tuesday, October 23 2001
Chinese zoo sentences lion to 'life imprisonment' for injuring tourists
SHANGHAI, Oct 23 (AFP) -
A lion in China's Wuhan Forest Wild Animal Zoo has been condemned to spend
the rest of its life in a cage after injuring two tourists, the Shanghai
Morning Post reported Tuesday.
The stiff sentence provoked an outcry from locals in Wuhan, the capital of
central China's Hubei province, the paper said.
A mother and son were throwing hens to the lion from the open window of a
bus travelling through the park, filled with untamed wild animals, on the
morning of October 6, the paper said.
However a lion pounced on them, seizing the boy's right arm and dragging him
out of the window, injuring his head.
The boy's mother was also scratched by the lion when she tried to wrestle
her son from its clutches, the report added. She is now out of hospital
although the child is still being treated for injuries.
Instead of tightening safety measures and ensuring windows are closed when
buses travel through the park, the park's management decided to punish the
lion, stirring up a furore in the local media.
The park applied to local police office for permission to shoot the lion but
was refused after the news got out and concerned citizens came to plead
mercy for the lion.
However in order to punish the miscreant beast, the zoo decided to sentence
the lion to "life imprisonment", locking it in a cage and forbidding it from
roaming outside with its peers.
The row is continuing, with many local residents convinced the lion is
innocent and people coming to the park to see the hapless animal and plead
its cause, the Shanghai paper said.
It is common for China's zoos and wild animal parks to allow tourists to
feed wild animals, to generate extra cash and drum up more excitement.
The Wuhan Forest zoo sold hens for 20 yuan (2.4 dollars) a piece on the bus
and allowed tourist to hurl them from the windows at passing predators.
Safety at Chinese zoos is lax and animals are often kept in appalling
conditions.
In another incident, a Bengal tiger in a zoo in the southwest Chinese city
of Kunming mauled a woman keeper to death, the China Daily newspaper
reported Tuesday.
The keeper entered a cage to feed a tiger on October 21 but failed to lock
the den where the animals were kept.
The tiger concerned had been caged and was now "waiting for the results of
the investigation", the report said.


Xiamen, Fujian Province, PRC.

Pronounced Shaman, called Hamoon in Hong Kong and Amoy in the West. I first visited in March 1997. This is a prosperous port city in a strategic position opposite Taiwan. There is no zoo listed in the guide books or on the international listings. But I regret to have to tell you that there is a small, sorry little zoo tucked into a corner of the otherwise lovely Zhongshan Park. Three yuan gets you into the park; another five yuan secures admission to the Jail. The cages are all exactly the same; featureless and dank and laid out in boring rows. Each consists of a concrete floor, roof, back and sides and iron bars on the front - nothing to climb on, no screening, nothing. They each measure 3 - 4 cubic metres. There are two Lesser Pandas, one Bactrian Camel, one Hippopotamus, one Brown Bear, one Sun Bear, two Moon Bears, two terrified Wolves, two Coypus, one very unhappy Dog, two Porcupines, a Raccoon, four Goats with carts to carry children, many Macaque Monkeys and lots of overcrowded Birds (especially unhappy were the owls with no shelter from the sun or the people). For an extra two yuan you can enter the reptile house where you will find about twenty assorted snakes in varying states of decay, an Alligator, various Lizards and Turtles - all in wretchedly inadequate housing. The hygiene seemed reasonable but there was absolutely no attempt to enhance the environment for any of the animals. This is certainly a shameful zoo on any standards, except the botanical.
I visited again in June 1998 and in February 2000.  The general picture was unchanged - featureless, monotonous rows of cages - but the standard of cleanliness has improved and all the animals had fresh water. Also, educational signs had been added. Gone were the Brown Bear, Dog, Goats and one of the Porcupines. In their places were one Chimpanzee, one young Jaguar, one Leopard, two Tigers, one pair of Lions, one Gibbon, one Emu and three Ostriches. The Coypus had babies.  A keeper told me the Reptile House was closed for hibernation. The Wolves didn't seem quite as nervous - stereotypically pacing without paying attention to the visitors. In other words, they had adapted to their circumstances by going out of their minds. 

Click for Photos of Xiamen Zoo.
 

Xian, Shaanxi Province, PRC.
Xian Zoological Garden, Golden Flower Northern Road, Xian.
Visited in August 1998.  Set up in 1956, it claims to be the largest zoo in the North West of China and the 8th largest in China. It is set in 28 hectares of beautiful woodland and has 4000 animals from 200 species. It specialises in animals from the Qinling Mountains and in rare national species. "Besides exhibition, the zoo is also a multiple base for reproduce, protection and research of wild animals as well as an important place to provide popular science to visitors."
It is a typical Chinese concrete and iron, unimaginative  menagerie zoo with no thought given to the needs of the inmates.
There were many birds in small cages tucked away in small valleys and on tops of hillocks - one series of cages was called "Songbird Gallery". Extra was charged for admission to a large hall with many small tanks called the "Fish, Amphibian and Reptile Exhibition".
The "animatronic" dinosaurs were excellent - the way zoos should go in the future.
The elephant and giraffe enclosures were above average for China.
The panda exhibit was the standard bare glass shopfront. 
The cages for the big cats and the chimps were truly awful.
But the worst feature, as usual, was the performance area.

Click for Photos of Xian Zoo.
 

Xichang, Lian Shan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, PRC.

Qionghai Park Zoo.  Another horrid little zoo in a beautiful setting. A couple of Lesser Pandas, a couple of Moon Bears, a couple of Brown Bears, a couple of German Shepherds, a couple of Turkeys, some Chickens, a Porcupine, a Tiger, a Vulture and some Peacocks. The usual shouting and throwing things by the visitors. Last year a keeper's son had his arm ripped off by a bear.
Not listed in Global Zoo Directory.
Xi Chang is a city of 100,000 people on Lake Qionghai and is famous as the rocket base for the Chinese satellite programme. It is on the railway line from Kunming to Chengdu and is 1000 metres above sea level. The Prefecture has 3,000,000 people and the Province 100,000,000. 
Click for Photos of Qionghai Zoo.
 

Ya'an, Sichuan Province, PRC.

Bi Fung Xia Wild Animal Park.
This is a newly set up park beautifully situated in the foothills above Ya'an. Entry was Y100 each.  The drive up to it was impressive with some exotic animals on view in paddocks beside the road (lions, tigers, ostriches, camels, gnus, etc).  Also quite impressive was the trip through the main paddocks on the zoo bus.  After that, horrors began to unfold.

The first paddock the bus went through was a concrete expanse with 3 wolves and 3 saplings on it.  The next were a good paddock for 10 lions and another for 4 tigers with watering holes, platforms, hills and trees.  One paddock had a brown bear and 4 moon bears - one, defanged and declawed, put his head and a paw into the driver's window and was fed with apples slices. There were also 3 civets.

Then off the bus and a long circuitous walk round the zoo section.

First, a miserable pair of cages with 2 vultures and 3 eagles - hardly room to move, let alone fly.
11 deer on a brick square.
10 free ranging macaques but 1 baby on a chain.
8 macaques in a concrete cage.
10 macaques in a concrete cage.
7 crocodiles outside the crocodile performance stadium (no performance immediately scheduled).
Large bird park - 2 tethered peacocks. Many water birds - seagulls, etc - cranes, magpies, quails, etc.

Wild Animal Performance:

• Assorted parrots, cockatoos and macaws doing various tricks.
• 4 young lions and 1 tiger doing rolling and balancing tricks) declawed and defanged). 1 lion rode on a horse's back.
• macaques doing somersaults, balancing, bicycling, etc.
• goat with a monkey on her back doing tight rope walking.
• lion jumping through 2 fiery hoops
• moonbear on stilts carrying a basket; baby moonbear on roller skates looking terrified.
• lion walking over two women.
• pigs and puppies seen in cages behind the performance area.

Camel rides.
Horse rides.

Elephant show (no performance immediately scheduled).  1 large and 1 medium female Asian elephant each in a small horribly confining cage made of bars, chicken wire and perspex.  Bull hooks standing ready. Ears torn. Sores on legs and feet.

Then an area with lots of small featureless cages containing:

• badgers
• monkeys
• white foxes
• red foxes
• porcupines
• mad, terrified wolves
• boar
• rabbit
• sheep
• macaques
• ducks
• donkey slipping on wet bricks
• 5 slow loris
• 7 shitzu dogs
• 1 sharpei and 2 spaniel puppies

Photography area:

• blind moon bear on pedestal
• dressed up macaque sitting between 2 tethered peacocks

8 deer on brick square.
4 bovines on brick square.
white tailed deer, brown deer and sambar on bricks.
3 sheep.
guinea fowl with donkeys and sheep.
large sow with child.
a variety of deer, elk and goats -some with foot troubles.
2 kangaroos in central heating.
3 white tigers and 2 white lions in relatively large enclosures.
numerous stalls selling snake oil, tiger urine, dog penis, elixir of youth, etc.
Thinking Room - extraordinary display of macabre pictures and models.
Sealion performance area (no performance immediately scheduled).

Click for Photos of Bi Fung Xia.

Yanzhou, Shandong Province, PRC.

Yanzhou is in the municipal area of Jining.
Siu Ling Park (Little Hill Park). Telephone number 2882. For your entrance fee you get to see 2 camels, 10 deer and 20 monkeys. (The GZD lists 30 mammals of 2 species). Then you spot a dilapidated building with a banner showing monkeys and birds - an extra fee gets you admitted to a small dank room in which there are 2 monkeys, 2 pheasants, 1 salamander, 1 something similar, 2 budgies and 2 coypus. Each was in a cage the size of its body. The whole place was filthy with faeces and old food. You were given a stick with which to poke one of the monkeys (which grabbed the stick and tried to strike back which made everyone laugh). An attendant struck the cage of the second monkey with a fan to demonstrate its fright reaction - more laughter.

Yibin, Sichuan Province, PRC.

We made a walk through the central district markets and parks and visited the Yibin municipal zoo - Cui Ping Park Zoo. This is typical of the horrid little zoos that can be found in the smaller Chinese cities. Barren and featureless rusting menagerie cages - about 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5m. The animals were generally in poor thin condition but had water (dirty looking) and food.
1 male lion, 1 male tiger - trying to pace on a slippery floor.
1 deer.
1 ostrich in bad condition with feather loss and lesions on neck and back.
2 camels with hair loss.
2 goats.
2 ponies.
Many different kinds of birds including parrots, pheasants, peacocks, hens, an owl, a vulture with no tail feathers and a lesion on his neck.
4 rabbits.
There was a collection of macaques. One had a split lip and a mashed finger and big wounds on body and head.  A young macaque was on a chain inside the cage. In the cage there was dirty water, compressed biscuits and many plastic bags. No enrichment. 

From Global Zoo Directory:
Cuiping ParkYibin, Sichuan
CHINA
Telephone: *5-465  

On the way back from the zoo we came across a small exhibit house which contained:
1 monitor lizard.
1 crocodile.
1 python.
2 monkeys on short fixed chains on a pedestal.
1 pheasant.
1 chameleon.
5 dead snakes.
lots of asbestos sheeting.

Click for Photos of Cui Ping Park.

Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, PRC.

Bo Xian Park Zoo.  I visited this unlisted horrid little zoo in September 1998.  The staff were very kind and opened the zoo early for my benefit as I had to be in Nanjing by lunchtime.  They appeared to show off their zoo with pride and were happy for me to pass through the open gates of the safety barriers to go in close for photographs.  The park was opened in 1931 in memory of the revolutionary martyr Zhao Shen (Bo Xian).  The zoo was added in 1953.  Zhenjiang has a population of 2.6 million and is an important port city on the lower Yangtze.

The cages were all made of  concrete and rusting  iron and were dismal, small, dirty and barren. The only good thing that can be said of the zoo is that there are only a few inmates.  Three bears, one tiger, one fox, two deer, one goat, one solitary monkey, a monkey pit, one large vulture, one peacock and numerous smaller birds.  Please don't pass by on the other side - please take a look at the Photos.

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, PRC.

I visited in July 1996. Zhengzhou Zoo is a conventional Chinese menagerie zoo. A large quite attractive park with various amusements including, unfortunately, some animal houses. Similar to the Beijing Zoo only much less extensive. There was a solitary panda in a large modern air-conditioned building with an outside paddock area. The floor was concrete and there was no furniture or play equipment but it was certainly roomy compared with most cages. And it was clean. The elephant was unchained and roaming in a small paddock. The tigers were stereotypically pacing in a fairly large outdoor area. The hippopotamus had a small pool but no shade. The gorilla house was locked up. There were a lot of caged birds. No evidence of attempts at environmental enrichment or public education. But reasonably well designed as zoos go and everything well maintained.

Note (December 1996): Babu the elephant got his trunk caught in a louvre window. Microvascular surgeons sewed it on again but it fell off the next day.

January, 1997; I visited the town again but did not have an opportunity to visit Babu. I have not been able to find out any more information since then.

Zigong, Sichuan Province, PRC.

We visited the private Zigong People's Park Zoo in November 2001. Another nasty little zoo. Dirty, miserable cages with animals in bad condition.
1 camel.
4 deer (in pairs in separate concrete and iron cages).
1 tiger + 1 dog (apparently friends since young - the story was that the dog was put in as food but the tiger never ate him).
2 cranes.
1 Chinese alligator in a tiny puddle.
A variety of parrots, peacocks, peasants and chickens in poor conditions.
4 macaques, one near death, 1 with a growth on his neck.
Another 3 macaques - interestingly, in an old bile bear cage.
1 moon bear - presumably ex-bear bile farm. 
1 vulture.

From Global Zoo Directory:
Zigong People's Park
Zigong, Sichuan
CHINA
Telephone: *2-543 Fax:

Outside the gates of the Zigong Zoo was one of the common freak type shows with several dead turtles and snakes and some live ones and a frantic, desperate "Sea Fox" (Civet) which was kept hungry so that visitors could feed him with live eels from a ladle.

Click for Photos of Zigong People's Park Zoo.

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Last revised: 16-Dec-07