Chimelong Safari Park
Guangdong Province has a slew of theme parks, including a five by the Chimelong group. With 5 parks between Guangzhou and Zhuhai in addition to a some other attractions there’s plenty to do regardless of your interests. As I visit the parks I’ll be talking about them in case anybody is weighing a trip.
My first stop was the zoo, called the Chimelong Safari Park. Famous for being the only site where live panda triplets were born the zoo is accessible via metro and shuttle bus. Take the city metro Line 3 to Hanxichanglong (汉溪长隆) on line 3 then take the shuttle bus to the Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort where you’ll find the zoo, water park, and amusement park. Tickets can be bought online or at the zoo and if you poke around it’s sometimes possible to find some discounts.
The zoo's map, from int.chimelong.com
Once you get inside you’re confronted with the sheer size of the park, which is split into two main areas.
I was unable to see the entire park in a day. To the west is a safari style area where the animals supposedly have freer reign than a traditional zoo style enclosure, although this was the area I didn’t see because I ran out of time, although it’s presented online as an area you drive through yourself. The rest of the park is a more traditional zoo with different areas focusing on different animals or areas. I came from the south entrance, where you can find the bears and flamingos. After that are some elephants which, for a fee, you can feed. A big panda area highlights those famous triplets, with a number of rooms housing them and the zoo’s other pandas. The northeast has monkey enclosures but I got there towards the end of the day and the monkeys had all retreated inside. To the west, bordering the safari area are lots of enclosures, letting you see lots of animals without having to walk too far and north of that is a snake house and a dinosaur area with replicas of dinosaurs and some information. It took me right back to the dinosaur exhibits they used to have sometimes at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island. If you want to see the zoo from a different angle there’s a cable car that goes around the park and lets you see lots of the park from a birds eye view, including some of the safari area. One of the cutest areas is a building full of young animals that are getting raised before they’re introduced to the main exhibits.
Some of the exhibits are excellent. Although cheesy I’ve always been fascinated by dinosaurs and dinosaur exhibits continue to excite me. The white tiger exhibit has daily shows where the tigers perform which is quite impressive. The baby area is full of some of the cutest animals in the park and China’s panda building is obviously one of the best. Since it is a zoo you’re afforded the chance to see things you might never see otherwise with Chimelong having a pygmy hippo, an animal I barely even knew existed. Some of the bird areas are open which lets you get a little closer to the animals and the snake house has snakes above and below you in addition to around you (which freaked out more than one person who was there when I was).
Like any zoo Chimelong Safari Park raises obvious concerns amongst the conscientiously minded crowd. The leopards seemed a little tight, with what seemed like far too many in a small enclosure. There were a few orangutans that did some open air performances, climbing and swinging above the crown, and the young one seemed extremely sad, as did a monkey that was out with a trainer to be viewed by the visitors, although I suppose it’s possible I just don’t understand primate facial emotions well enough. Your opinion of zoos isn’t likely to be changed by Chimelong’s offering. The zoo is still kind of an animal prison if that’s your opinion but conversely it seems clean and well run so won’t sour you on zoos if you tend to like them.
Since the zoo is so large make sure to arrive early to see as much as possible. Or spend a night in Guangzhou and take the park in over two days. Then you can take your time at each exhibit and get the most out of your trip. If you’re in the area for a couple days and sick of poking around the city you could even take in a few of the parks in the area, since the amusement park and water park are so close. Make sure you eat before you get there since you aren’t allowed to bring food in and the food from the restaurants in the zoo is exactly as expensive as you think it will be. All in all Chimelong Safari Park isn't one of the those super depressing Chinese zoos you hear about (and they do exist) but if you have any problems with zoos this one won't suddenly make you think they're all well and good.
Hopefully I'll get back to the zoo eventually to check out the safari area. I'll be sure to update the post if I do and keep your eyes peeled for posts about some of the other Chimelong parks.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you on my next trip. Don't forget to click the links below and follow to stay up to date on what I'm doing and where I am and to see all the pictures and videos from my trips.