Monkeys shine at ongoing Shanghai Zoo festival
Print Edition
THE “2016 Year of the Monkey Chinese Zodiac Cultural Festival” kicked off at Shanghai Zoo last month. Running until May, the festival puts the spotlight on the zoo’s lovely and funny primates.
The zoo is home to 42 different kinds of primates. It is the only zoo in China where visitors can see rare primates like the white-headed langur, the mouse lemur and the siamang.
The zoo’s primate exhibition zone is divided into three areas. The first area features several species of macaques, while the second and third areas focus on monkeys from South America and marmosets respectively.
There is also a gorilla house decorated with African motifs where visitors can imagine themselves trekking through the continent’s wild tropical rainforests.
Over at the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey zone, guests will be delighted as they watch these playful creatures cavort and bounce through their thoughtfully designed habitat. They can also watch gibbons romp along ropes and swings intended to satisfy their natural urge to climb.
Over the Spring Festival, a newly constructed lemur island also opened for public viewing. Surrounded by water, the island is like a little kingdom just for these playful critters. Their new home also features shelters where the animals can take refuge from the elements.
The zoo’s monkey-themed celebration includes activities like garden parties, contests, exhibitions and discussions with animal experts.
Between February 8 and 13, the zoo hosted a “Golden Monkey Awakens Spring Festival” garden party. The event featured folk activities like scroll-writing, paper-cutting and riddle-guessing. There were also jigsaw puzzles and treasure hunts.
On weekends between April 16 and May 15, zoo visitors can take part in the “Here Comes the Ape” exploration activity. Participants can claim gifts if they answer 10 primate-related questions. By observing the zoo’s animals and brushing up on their general science knowledge, guests are sure to answer correctly.
Also until May 15, the zoo is hosting a special exhibition on the monkey in Chinese culture.
In March and April, parents and children can attend fun, educational activities on primates at the zoo’s popular science classroom and the primates exhibition zone.
Through storytelling, the zoo aims at raising the public’s awareness about bio-diversity and the plight of endangered primates.
The zoo is also running a “Most Beautiful Monkey King” contest on its public WeChat account. Users can vote for their favorite monkey and enter a lucky-draw competition. Winners can get two free tickets to the zoo.
Last but not least, there is a photo contest where participants can upload their best shot of the zoo’s primates. Entries can be submitted via the zoo’s official website until April 30.
Adult single-entry tickets at the zoo cost 40 yuan (US$6.10). Tickets for students and senior citizens are priced at 20 yuan and 36 yuan respectively.
Over the Spring Festival, many of the zoo’s employees — including all of its nearly two dozen primate caretakers — worked through the holiday to keep the facility open.
Zhu Yingdi, 34, has been working for the Shanghai Zoo for 10 years.
“I’ve worked almost every Spring Festival. As a zoo keeper, I’ve grown accustomed to a life like this,” said Zhu. “Monkeys need us and we need monkeys.”
Altogether, more than 300 individual primates live at the zoo and Zhu is familiar with almost all of them. “Monkeys are like human children,” Zhu said.
“They can belch and have a runny nose. Sometimes they don’t wipe their noses and their fur become sticky. Some little monkeys will even beg the zoo keepers to hug them.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
