Traveling with your kids? To plan a Beijing kid tour, one of the children friendly things to do in Beijing is to visit a local zoo. Basically Beijing has three zoos – Beijing Zoo, Badaling Safari World and Beijing Wildlife Park.
Beijing Zoo is the oldest, originally built in 1906 and named Beijing Zoo in 1955. Though smallest in size of the three zoos, Beijing Zoo has the most animal species of over 500 with a total number of animals over 50,00. It is also the nearest to the city center of Beijing, close to Summer Palace. Beijing Zoo is well-known for its Panda House where you can meet giant pandas in a close range.
Beijing Badaling Safari World is the largest mountainous eco-zoo in China with a total area of 400 acres. It is located at the foot of Badaling Great Wall, about 90km northeast of Beijing. Beijing Badaling Safari World is divided into 5 parts – Wild Animal Viewing Area, Mountain and Forest Sightseeing Area, Eco-Protection Area, Ancient Cultural Area and Leisure Area. Among other animals, you can also see giant pandas here, the African lions, American white tigers, brown bears and more.
Beijing Wildlife Park is located in Daxing District, about 50km north of Beijing city center. Of the three zoos in Beijing, only Beijing Wildlife Park offers the safari ride in a safari-park area of the park. The park has over 200 animal species with a total number of over 10,000 animals.
Now follow me into Beijing Wildlife Park.
How to get there:
For self-drive, you may drive from Yuquanying on to Jingkai Expressway and exit at the Exit of Yufa (榆垡), then driver another 40,00 meters southward, you will get to Beijing Wildlife Park on your right hand ( east side of the road). For taking public buses going there, you may have following three choices:
Opening Hours: 8:30 – 17:30 ( all year round)
Park Entrance Fee: CNY 80 (adult), CNY 50 (Students), CNY 55 (Senior, 65) and Free for Kids under 1.2 meters high
Bus 943: Starting from Yongdingmen (永定门), through Yuquanying and Huangcun to Beijing Wildlife Park.
Bus 842: Starting Baiyun Road (白云路), through Yuquanying and Daxing Huandao to Beijing Wildlife Park.
Daxing Bus 28: Starting from the subway stop of Tiangongyuan (天宫院) of Subway Line 4, directly to Beijing Wildlife Park.
Beijing Wildlife Park Contact information:
Tel: 010 96285360 (enquiry), 010-89216666 (ticketing)
Fax: 010 89290661
At 7:30am Now we are driving on Jingkai Expressway starting from Yuquanying. There is a signboard pointing to the direction to Beijing Wildlife Park.
We are getting off the expressway at the Toll Gate of Yufa.
The entrance gate faces west, when you enter the gate, on your right hand, you will see a huge park map signboard which tells visitors how to visit the park.
It introduces three ways of visiting Beijing Wildlife Park – South Route Area, North Route Area and Middle Route Area. Most people would choose to walk from south and up to the north in a loop.
And seldom visitors will choose th middle way. There are some sightseeing trolleys available for those who are slow walkers.
South Route Area
The South Route includes Golden Monkey House, Rare Animal House, Lion & bamboo House, Bird Lane, Ostrich Park, Animal Performance Area and Trucks for safari rides.
People are watching several jumping golden monkeys at the Golden Monkey Cage House
A white cheeked gibbon
The animal show stats 10:30 am and 2:30pm everyday or you’d better check the actual time for performance. The show is rather circus-oriented. A monkey is pedaling a little bike across a high bridge; bears keep balance; lions are jumping through hoops and elephants act in a smart way. We also see the bears walking about on their hind legs in a human fashion.
Elephants act in a smart way.
Lions are jumping through hoops
We are driven through the different spaces separated by double gates. We are also given a bucket of carrots to feed to some of the animals, The onboard tour guide is giving us a brief introduction to the animals in different sections.
A bear is eating a carrot offered by one of the visitors onboard.
A pair of white-fronted geese. A black swan islet.
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Autumn Tour
Great Wall Tour
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street
Any questions, just drop a line.