Animal lovers have the opportunity to visit two zoos in Guangzhou. One is a Safari Park, a true natural area that can be explored on foot or by vehicle and renowned for being very pleasant, the other is a dismal place where animal conditions are deplorable. You've guessed it—we made a mistake and visited the latter one instead... A tale of an epic fail.    

A Day in Misery

  Our boss strongly recommended the Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou, home to numerous species we don't usually see back home and offering visitors the chance to hold baby tigers in their arms, among other things. Seduced by the idea, we quickly searched online for the address to occupy our Saturday. We headed to Xianlie Road in the Yuexiu district. The zoo entrance right in the middle of the city didn't make a great first impression, and we already had doubts about the park's safari character.

Not Quite So Happy...

Still, we'd come all this way, so there was no point searching further. The entrance fee was 20 yuan (around €2) for park access alone, and 30 yuan for park access plus a show. For just €1 more, why quibble? Let's go for the second option!

Guangzhou Zoo Map

Kangaroos, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, lions, white tigers, pandas... The zoo map nonetheless promised an enjoyable stroll with great wildlife diversity. But we were in for a disappointing awakening...

We started in the herbivore zone, where we were confronted with animals with vacant stares, barely moving an inch. The deer, zebras, roe deer, and other antelopes were heartbreaking to see, and we were already regretting the visit.

Dead or Alive?

The elephants didn't seem to be treated any better, housed in dingy, barren shelters. The thoughtlessness of some visitors made the overall discomfort worse, as several threw papers and trash that the pachyderms promptly swallowed...

The Elephant Zone

The visit continued with this same disheartening impression everywhere, from small mammals to reptiles and primates confined in tiny cages...

Bambi better watch out...

The felines weren't treated any better, with panthers, tigers, pumas, jaguars, and lions appearing exhausted.

In the Jungle, Terrible Jungle...

A Wolf in Poor Condition

Cubs with No Business Being Here

And let's not even mention the pandas we were seeing for the first time... This zoo was definitely not welcoming...

  Do we even need to discuss the show we paid an extra euro each to see? It was a pathetic circus where terrified monkeys paraded under their trainers' whips, while Chinese visitors in the arena laughed. A show that made us want to leave within minutes.

An Anesthetized Snake

Here, You Fish for Your Own Goldfish

From this day, we'd rather remember one quirky moment when a group of mothers surrounded Charlène to have their children photographed with her. An apparently more impressive spectacle than the animals behind the enclosures...

A park that left us quite depressed, and one that's frankly heartbreaking to see. We'd later learn from our boss's mockery that we'd visited Guangzhou Zoo instead of the Safari Park, which is actually located in the Fanyu district south of the city, where animals are much better treated. That news was somewhat reassuring, though we're not sure we'll have the motivation to visit before the end of our internship...  To view our photos of Guangzhou, feel free to visit the gallery.