We bought the tickets and walked towards the entrance, passing an old man who jiggled his can when we neared him. A signal for loose change. The boy asked, "Why are there so many people asking for money?" I had no answer and did not respond.
But my mood was immediately lifted upon entering the zoo. What greeted me was a nice huge lawn and better yet, no signs warning us against putting our feet on the grass! There weren't many people too! I can almost call it deserted. A very rare thing here in crowded Shanghai.
It must have been crazy for most locals to consider going to the zoo that day. The temperature range was between -2 to 2degrees Celsius. But it turned out to be a not too crazy decision. It wasn't a miserably cold day to be out and about. The sun was shinning and there wasn't much wind.
On looking at this satellite map taken off Google (area where the zoo is circled), I realized why I was so happy. The zoo is one of the few pockets of green in Shanghai! I must have been like the animal released into the wild! No more concrete jungle! Grass you can walk on!
The first exhibit we saw was a man sweeping an empty cage. The boy asked, "What is this?" I replied, "This is a man," in the same tone as I would have said, "This is a monkey." He paused and then laughed. My dear boy.
And then we saw the giant panda ( there was just one) who did nothing but ate bamboo leaves, several 'lesser/red pandas' ( which seemed to be the happiest mammals we saw at the zoo), a gorilla who did nothing but ate, regurgitate, eat the regurgitated food, regurgitate, the whole 3-4 minutes we were there and bears who stood on their hind legs, clasped their paws and grunted for food.
Arh, visitors here bring their own entertainment kits - corn for the birds, peanuts for the primates and toss-able pieces of food for the bigger animals. There are signs prohibiting this but no one around to enforce it.
The environment/enclosures for the birds are really nice - they have nice ponds and waterways. I guess they are better off than the mammals (but the price they pay for that is clipped wings).
Alright. I'd stop. Putting compassion for the animals aside, it's a nice place to visit if you have been trapped in the city for a while.
How to get there: The easiest is to hop on the Metro Line 10 and get off at the Shanghai zoo （上海动物园). The station is right below the zoo's entrance. Tickets costs RMB40 and each adult can bring a child below 1.2m for free. Opening hours depends and is normally shorter during Winter. I think it would be safe to assume the zoo is open daily from 10am-4:30pm.
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