Beijing Zoo (Beijing) | park, interesting place

 park, zoo, interesting place

Situated in the Xicheng District, Beijing Zoo was the first of its kind to be opened in China. The zoo contains a diverse collection of animals, a number of exhibition halls and some sites of historical interest. The zoo is home to around 900 different species and has a population of some 20,000 animals. Some of the most popular attractions among visitors are the wild and rare animals of China itself, such as the pandas, golden monkeys, milu deer and northeast tigers.
The Beijing Zoo site is comprised of 16 different exhibition areas and halls. One of the most popular of these is the Panda Hall. Built in 1989 and covering an area of around 10,000 square meters (2.5 acres), it delivers an impressive aesthetic scene while also managing to account for the practical considerations of housing such large and physical animals. The inside of the hall replicates the style of traditional Chinese gardens and is shaped in the pattern of a Tai Chi diagram.Another of the zoo's famous halls, the Gorilla Hall, was constructed in 1987. The building houses a series of artificial hillocks and wooden apparatus for the animals which sit against a backdrop of attractive gorilla murals. Facilities introduced for the gorillas include a medical room, a mating room and a specialist feeding room. The hall itself is decorated by a series of rockeries and pools.
The Beijing Aquarium is a must for anyone visiting the zoo. Opened in 1999, it is widely-recognized by tourist as being one of the country's top attractions, and is actually the largest inland aquarium in the world.
Also on the site is the Song Jiaoren Memorial Tower. Song (1882-1913) was one of the early leaders of the Kuomintang, but was assassinated soon after he was elected as China's premier in 1913. Another site of historical interest is the Changguanlou: a two storied, baroque-style building constructed from brick and wood. In the late-19th century it was occupied by Ci Xi (1835-1908), the Empress Dowager and ruler of the Qing court between 1861 and 1908. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), the founder of the Kuomintang, is also said to have lived in the hall during his stay in Beijing.