Zoological and Botanical Garden of Changchun, Jilin, China

4New Foods With N 5:00 PM Oct 5, 2016

Okay. Depends on your perspective
At 30 yuan to get in, it is affordable and easy to navigate if you don't speak Chinese. There is no food of substance available inside, just vending stands with warm soda and junk food priced double of what you'd expect to pay in a store. The grounds are nicely kept and there is no shortage of beauty. There is a theme park that cost extra (between 3-6 yuan per ride). It looks as well maintained as any travelling carnival I'd see back home in North America. A fraction of the enclosures were empty. Perhaps 1/5. Some of the animals had really nice green enclosures with space and entertainment, while others were in almost heartbreaking squalor. The polar bear, the seals, rhino and the chimps in particular were in plain concrete surrounds that were much too small, very dirty water, and no entertainment whatsoever. Some were encased on all sides in glass with no air conditioning or significant ventilation. The polar bear had sores all over his head. Most of the animals seemed happy and healthy, but there were a few obviously quite neglected. People were throwing trash at the monkeys and the staff wasn't doing much about it. There were lots of toilets and they were decent squatters compared to some I have seen here. They had stall doors. Despite toilets being everywhere, don't be surprised to see Chinese parents pulling down their kids pants pretty much anywhere and letting them go. We saw it twice right on the walkways with no effort to shield them...I am told this is cultural. Overall, it is a relatively okay place to take your kids. My son didn't really pick up on the poorer kept animals, perhaps I am more sensitive. By all means, definitely a nice afternoon if you aren't overly sensitive about the animal quality of life.

3Robert H 5:00 PM Jun 19, 2021

NIce afternoon walk
This zoo has a pretty good collection of animals and could provide for a nice day out. Some exhibits could be better quality to make the animals more confirmable and it wold be nice of people did not throw things at the animals like water bottles.