The Suzhou Zoo
Last Sunday we went to the Suzhou Zoo. Up until a few years ago, it was located inside a park in the old town and it was very small, based on what I’ve heard. But then it moved to a new location in the suburbs and I was gladly surprised when we arrived there. The place is big and beautiful!
Lake where you can rent a boat and hang out with some cool birds. Are they pelicans? I have no idea.
The new Suzhou zoo is located in Shangfang Mountain, which is a natural park very close to the city center. It only takes 30 minutes to get there! But, well, then there’s a traffic jam in the last kilometer due to all the families heading to the zoo. That’s the problem with going on a weekend!
After visiting the Beijing zoo in 2006, I had never been to a Chinese zoo again. The Beijing one was in a sorry state and the animals seemed miserable. I’m not sure how happy can animals in a zoo be but, if I was in prison, I’d rather be in a prison with a nice view and a big room. And most of the enclosures in the Suzhou zoo are big.
Flamingos!
The zoo is divided into several zones: birds, hervibores, “ferocious animals”, etc. We didn’t see everything because the place is quite big, it was hot and we were hungry. Important tip: Pack some sandwiches if you go there, because the food options are scarce (or at least we could only find a couple of places selling simple snacks in the whole place). Baby A. was very excited about the animals, as any 2 year old would be! We saw many different birds and monkeys, two jiraffes, one elephant, kangaroos, zebras, llamas, camels, antelopes, deers, a lion sleeping in the distance and several tigers. We missed the bears, the wolves and all the aquatic creatures, so we will go back in the future (with lunch and sunscreen, this time).
Zebras are really beautiful!
There was something strange inside the zoo: a fun fair with rides for children! Luckily, when Baby A. saw it, he said: “There’s too many people, let’s come back later” and then he forgot about it.
The fun fair in the background.
There was another area of “cute animals”. I found that a bit offensive, aren’t all animals cute? :D But it was probably just a bad translation as the place was like a petting zoo, with goats, rabits and other animals for the children to see up close.
The Suzhou zoo is a great place to spend a day with children! It is quite big so it doesn’t feel crowded and the area itself is beautiful. The zoo’s official name is 上方山森林动物世界, Shangfangshan Forest Animal World and the adult ticket is 60 RMB. The closest subway stop is Shihu Bei (line 3), 2.5 km away from the zoo, but buses 505 and 415 go from the subway stop to nearby the zoo entrance. By car, it’s only 30 minutes from SIP if there’s no traffic.
It’s always fun to go outside. Looks like a very relaxing place to go that is fun for kids!
Yes, I wasn’t expecting it to be so nice!
I feel the same way about zoos/ prisons. If we have to have them, they’d better be big.
I can’t believe there aren’t more food and sunscreen vendors. Someone is missing a serious money-making opportunity!
Yes! It didn’t even occur to me to bring food as usually there are tons of places selling it… after all, this is China, where people don’t ever stop eating!
Sounds like you had a very nice family outing. The Zoo does look nice and spacious and I’m sure it was a treat for Baby A. I hope there wasn’t a section for “Big Scary Animals”.
Hahaha no, I didn’t see that one. The only weird ones were “cute animals” and “ferocious animals”.
Baby A sure is getting bigger! Glad you were able to find a nice zoo too!
I was surprised with this part of Suzhou! It’s very close to the center but it looks so… naturey xD
What a lovely zoo! I like all the space. Beautiful lake and pond. You got some great pictures. Flamingos are among of my favorite animals. Was this baby A’s first time at a zoo?
Yes! First time seeing live all the animals he knew from books, hehe.
I can’t believe baby A’s 2!
The birds are pelicans. Finding Nemo!
Ha! Thanks. I wasn’t sure as the “beak bag” looked too small to me xD
I think that’s only visible when they eat!
So glad to hear the place is big for the animals Marta. And of course that baby A enjoyed it. I am not a fan of zoos and made up my mind to never go to Beijing’s – it’s a dreadfully sad place – I feel so much for those animals. We do have many good zoos here in Australia; some open plain zoos and others have plenty of space for the animals.
Yes, good idea not going to the one in Beijing. It’s really in a sad state :_( Well or at least it was last decade. I doubt there’s been much change (mainly because no space… they would need to move it to another place).
Nice post. Suzhou Zoo looks really spacious and fun. I like zoos and seeing wildlife myself, but I agree the Beijing Zoo was terrible. I went there in 2013 and I found the enclosures really small and unappealing, and I even saw a dead lizard in the reptile section!
Oh that’s so sad. I went there in 2006 so I’m not happy to hear nothing had changed in years…
That was back in 2013 or so, I’d like to think maybe it has improved. But given the general state of Chinese zoos and the attitude towards animals, I can’t say I’m too optimistic.