Beijing Zoo

During my three day weekend jaunt to Beijing I visited a lot of famous sights that most people put on their to do list. By the afternoon of my second day there, I had visited the Forbidden City, Tian'an Men Square, Jingshan Park, strolled through the side streets and visited the market place in the French Quarter. I was tired and hot, but I wasn't ready to call it a day and return to my hotel. So instead I went to the zoo. The Beijing Zoo has it's own subway stop and was conveniently located only two stops away from my hotel. 

I've been wanting to see pandas in China for as long as I can remember. I visited the zoo in Washington DC back in 2010 to see the pandas, but was disappointed when I arrived and they were sleeping next to the wall nearly out of sight. So I thought, maybe this would be the day I'd actually get to see the cute bears and in China too! Sadly, it was not. 

I walked in through the front gate and straight to the panda exhibit. They charge an extra 5 yuan to view the pandas. I know it's not much, but it was kind of a waste for what I saw. This is the only view of the pandas I had that day:

Other than my brief attempt to visit the panda exhibit, I didn't even visit any of the other animals. I read in my guide book that the aquarium is worth a visit, but I didn't make it over there. Instead I spent two hours wandering through the park, sitting on benches and taking in the beautiful parks. When I looked at my photos later, I realized I had taken all photos of the water areas and statues in the zoo and not many animals. I really enjoyed the zoo. I found it really relaxing and peaceful even with all of the people milling about. The zoo is very spread out and I don't think I visited even half of it. I'll definitely be back to explore more areas and maybe even check out the animals! 

  

What do you like best about visiting the zoo?