Shanghai Zoo is located in No.2381 Hongqiao Road, Changning District, Shanghai. It is close to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. The zoo was founded in 1954, formerly known as the West Park. Shanghai Zoo belongs to a large national-level zoo, covering an area of 743,000 square meters. There are more than 400 species of animals on display, and the building area of the display is 47,237 square meters. It honors to be one of the national top ten zoos, as well as the second largest city zoo in China.
The original Shanghai zoo is a golf club. Then the club is transformed into a zoo in 1954. After half a century of development the Shanghai Zoo has been develop into one of the best environmental gardens in Shanghai. The zoo collects and displays more than 6,000 animals, among which are 600 Chinese animals, including the giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey, South China tiger, hoopoe, black bulbul, scimitar-horned oryx, great hornbills and Bactrian camels. Animals from other parts of the world include, the chimpanzee, giraffe, polar bear, kangaroo, gorilla, ring tailed lemur, common marmoset, spider monkey, african wild dog, olive baboon, mandrill, Canadian lynx and maned wolf. The zoo is continuously establishing and enhancing the animal enclosures so as to offer much better conditions for the animals and a enjoyable feel for tourists.
The initial golf course design and style has been essentially maintained. There are a total of 100,000 trees with almost 600 varieties rooted in the zoo. The green regions and grass lawns cover up an area of 100,000 square meters. The zoo efforts to produce an environmentally-friendly surroundings for the animals – the ‘Swan Lake’ with its natural reed clumps and trees offering shade for pelicans, geese, black swans, night herons and other birds, is a excellent instance of this.
The Shanghai Zoo offers areas for enjoyment and amusement, opportunities for tourists to improve their understanding of the numerous creatures and brings together this with technological and specialized investigation to enable people to get a better understanding and preserve animals. Since the zoo was set up it has been sponsor to over 150,000,000 visitors. The goal of the Shanghai Zoo is to have tourists depart with a much better knowledge of and gratitude for the wildlife and their surroundings.
Transportation tips:
Take Buses: take No. 57, 91, 519,709, 721, 739, 748, 806, 807, 809, 911, 925, 936, 938, 941, 1207, 196 buses to get to there.
Take metro: take line No.10 and get off at Shanghai Zoo Station, then get out from exit No.1 or 2, you will find the zoo ticket office easily.
Please try to avoid the rush hour, or you will have to take hours on the road.
Opening time: The opening time of the Shanghai Zoo differs slightly according to the season. It is extended for half an hour for the higher temperatures from March to October. So the opening time from March to October is 6:30—17:30. From November to February, it is 6: 30—17:00.
Recommended visiting hours: 3 to 5 hours.
Ticket fares: 40 CNY P.P