My Beijinger Journey: Panda Overload and the Next Stop
The end of this journey is near, yet the memory and experience live on.
With a few hours to spare and not wanting to travel far (better be at the airport early), we checked out our hostel and visited the Beijing Zoo. It is easy to get there, use Subway to Beijing Zoo Station and exit through a labyrinth of shops, follow the crowd. We went on a Saturday and there were many families walking in the same direction. It was crowded at the ticket booth, and to be honest, i rarely see a zoo being packed with people. Maybe not in Malaysia, or maybe it was the weekend. Either way, get the normal entrance fee student price of only 8 RMB instead of the through ticket- no student price for through ticket.
There is something about zoos that i find contradictory but i do not wish to dwell on in here. So, the main purpose of visiting this zoo? Pandas, of course!
We quickly got in and found ourselves to the ticket booth of the Panda House. Entrance was 5 RMB. The pandas were kept in enclosures and were seen always sleeping. They were divided into the Olympic Pandas (used to bid for the Olympic Games), the Asian Pandas and other pandas. Unlike the black-and-white as imagined, the pandas are covered with sand, becoming brown-and-white instead. Seeing all the pandas sleeping, i was rather disappointed. I wanted to see, if not an active panda in the wild, moving pandas.
I fiddled with my camera then i looked up, and ta-da, one of the panda started to move towards the pile of bamboos. The panda sat and started peeling the bamboos before chewing on them. So adorable! It was a sight i rarely see and i was lucky to catch the panda having its meal.
Satisfied, we exited the Panda House and explored the other parts of the zoo. Constantly, i compared this to Zoo Negara and having been volunteered in my home zoo, i found this zoo to be clean and well-maintained. There are animals here that are not found in our zoo. I got to see a zebra up-close, lemurs, yak, rhinoceros with horn, and Yunnan snub-nose monkey, amongst others. If not pressing for time, i might enjoy walking around this zoo.
We left the zoo, had our lunch and grabbed our luggage before heading to the airport using the Airport Express Train.
My journey in Beijing has been nothing short of adventure. From the beginning of the conference, to scaling the Great Wall, to getting lost in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, to being scammed for my first time ever, to challenge my taste bud, to bid the Olympic structures 'hello' and entered Temples much, much older than i am, and to learn Chinese history, culture and language. Four UNESCO World Heritage sites ticked, one my favourite of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Beijing, as i once mentioned, is truly a large city. Never underestimate the scale of this city and what it can emerge from in the next few years.
Will i return to Beijing? Yes, but may be in a while. Beijing has much to offer, and i took as much and as best i could in this journey.
So, where's the next stop?
(i'm running low on cash!)
My Beijinger Journey: Beijing Big
My Beijinger Journey: I Climbed the Great Wall of China
My Beijinger Journey: A City Forbidden
My Beijinger Journey: An Ugly Stain
My Beijinger Journey: Summer Palace's Vacation
My Beijinger Journey: Olympic Park Booms and Night Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Confucius Temple
My Beijinger Journey: Shopping and (Exotic) Food Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Panda Overload and the Next Stop
With a few hours to spare and not wanting to travel far (better be at the airport early), we checked out our hostel and visited the Beijing Zoo. It is easy to get there, use Subway to Beijing Zoo Station and exit through a labyrinth of shops, follow the crowd. We went on a Saturday and there were many families walking in the same direction. It was crowded at the ticket booth, and to be honest, i rarely see a zoo being packed with people. Maybe not in Malaysia, or maybe it was the weekend. Either way, get the normal entrance fee student price of only 8 RMB instead of the through ticket- no student price for through ticket.
There is something about zoos that i find contradictory but i do not wish to dwell on in here. So, the main purpose of visiting this zoo? Pandas, of course!
We quickly got in and found ourselves to the ticket booth of the Panda House. Entrance was 5 RMB. The pandas were kept in enclosures and were seen always sleeping. They were divided into the Olympic Pandas (used to bid for the Olympic Games), the Asian Pandas and other pandas. Unlike the black-and-white as imagined, the pandas are covered with sand, becoming brown-and-white instead. Seeing all the pandas sleeping, i was rather disappointed. I wanted to see, if not an active panda in the wild, moving pandas.
Got my Panda House ticket.
A sleeping giant panda.
I fiddled with my camera then i looked up, and ta-da, one of the panda started to move towards the pile of bamboos. The panda sat and started peeling the bamboos before chewing on them. So adorable! It was a sight i rarely see and i was lucky to catch the panda having its meal.
Chewing on the bamboo. The pandas looked bigger than imagined.
See the panda having its meal in this short video recorded.
Satisfied, we exited the Panda House and explored the other parts of the zoo. Constantly, i compared this to Zoo Negara and having been volunteered in my home zoo, i found this zoo to be clean and well-maintained. There are animals here that are not found in our zoo. I got to see a zebra up-close, lemurs, yak, rhinoceros with horn, and Yunnan snub-nose monkey, amongst others. If not pressing for time, i might enjoy walking around this zoo.
A shy rhino.
We left the zoo, had our lunch and grabbed our luggage before heading to the airport using the Airport Express Train.
My journey in Beijing has been nothing short of adventure. From the beginning of the conference, to scaling the Great Wall, to getting lost in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, to being scammed for my first time ever, to challenge my taste bud, to bid the Olympic structures 'hello' and entered Temples much, much older than i am, and to learn Chinese history, culture and language. Four UNESCO World Heritage sites ticked, one my favourite of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Beijing, as i once mentioned, is truly a large city. Never underestimate the scale of this city and what it can emerge from in the next few years.
Will i return to Beijing? Yes, but may be in a while. Beijing has much to offer, and i took as much and as best i could in this journey.
So, where's the next stop?
(i'm running low on cash!)
My Beijinger Journey: Beijing Big
My Beijinger Journey: I Climbed the Great Wall of China
My Beijinger Journey: A City Forbidden
My Beijinger Journey: An Ugly Stain
My Beijinger Journey: Summer Palace's Vacation
My Beijinger Journey: Olympic Park Booms and Night Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Confucius Temple
My Beijinger Journey: Shopping and (Exotic) Food Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Panda Overload and the Next Stop
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