With public awareness of environmental and conservation issues perceived to be on the rise<\/a> in China, some of its zoos are transforming. What were once venues for entertaining the public now increasingly work to educate their visitors and conserve nature. Hongshan Zoo\u2019s success may provide others with inspiration. It was the first zoo to stop showing performing animals and feeding experiences, in favour of a focus on animal welfare and education, yet it still draws in the crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hongshan Forest Zoo is the only self-funded public zoo in a Chinese provincial capital. Despite being government-owned, it covers all expenses using its own income. That may sound precarious \u2013 what if admission revenues fall? \u2013 but it also means more freedom for zoo managers. Currently, 85% of the zoo\u2019s income comes from ticket sales, at CNY 40 (USD 5.50) each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The zoo\u2019s online success started on China\u2019s Yixi platform, which broadcasts educational talks. In 2020, the zoo lost<\/a> over CNY 30 million (USD 4 million; about 40% of the zoo\u2019s average income). Yixi featured<\/a> the zoo\u2019s director, Shen Zhijun, who joked: \u201cThey said there would be \u2018revenge travel\u2019 after the pandemic. Well, I\u2019ve waited three months and hardly anyone\u2019s come to take revenge on me.\u201d His quip went viral, and the internet responded by granting Shen his wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they walked through the gates, visitors were not met with the zoo experience of their childhoods. Performances and feeding opportunities had been replaced by extra information panels. The animals weren\u2019t pacing back and forth in enclosures of steel and concrete. In fact, they seemed to have been granted some privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview<\/a> with China Central Television published in 2024, Chen Chuanwu, a life sciences professor at Nanjing University, explained: \u201cAt Hongshan, you\u2019ll find the paths for visitors are narrow, while the animals have plenty of living space. It\u2019s more like their natural habitat, so they display more of their natural behaviour.\u201d Shen Zhijun\u2019s viral clip earned Hongshan a rush of attention, but the zoo\u2019s lasting success has been built on a determination to respect and prioritise its animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dialogue Earth consulted the zoo\u2019s deputy head, Bai Yali. She says zoos are typically built around solo exhibits of big animals \u2013 elephants, lions, tigers and so on \u2013 to draw in visitors. Now, Hongshan\u2019s exhibits are starting to focus on ecosystems or educational themes. In 2021 for example, Hongshan opened a local species conservation zone, educating visitors on the animals found in and around Nanjing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The local species exhibit is not big, but it covers a range of ecosystems: fields, lakes, mountain forests, and wetlands. Small areas of crops<\/a>, such as sponge gourds, have been planted in the fields and fertilised with composted kitchen waste. No pesticides are applied, allowing insects to get busy pollinating. Once mature, the crops are fed to the animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The zone is at pains to depict typical wild habitats, as Bai Yali explains: \u201cWith the beauty rat snake [Elaphe taeniura<\/em>], our designers opted to create a stovetop. These snakes often appear on the tops of stoves in villages, as they like the residual heat. We also provide their favourite food, mice. Here, we want to create those links with everyday life, to draw attention to the links between humans and animals and ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between the 1950s and 1970s, zoos were set up in China\u2019s major cities for entertainment purposes. Often, they were little more than fenced-off areas in city parks that came to be known as \u201cpark zoos<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, these animal enclosures would grow to become attractions in their own right. However, there were numerous failings in their design. Animals were typically housed in concrete and steel cages, or behind thick glass, in spaces that were too small and bare. In such environments, animals may display unusual, repetitive behaviours<\/a>. A video<\/a> made the news in 2021 of an elephant pacing back and forth, tossing its head and trunk, at northern China\u2019s Taiyuan Zoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Animal welfare issues in China\u2019s zoos go beyond poorly designed enclosures. Animal performances<\/a> are still common, to attract visitors and boost profits. However, the public\u2019s awareness of these issues has been growing<\/a>. For example, a campaign to rescue an elephant named Molly gained widespread attention<\/a> online in 2022. For years, Molly had been forced to perform in Henan province by handlers using iron hooks. The campaign ultimately led to the animal\u2019s reunion<\/a> with her mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2010, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development published guidance<\/a> on better zoo management. It criticised animal performances and said these practices harmed conservation efforts and could result in animal deaths or injuries to humans. The guidance ordered an immediate halt to all such performances. In 2013, the ministry doubled down in a new document<\/a> regarding the development of the zoo sector, again forbidding animal performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hongshan Zoo was reportedly the first<\/a> to cancel such performances, in 2011. Zoos in many other cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Fuzhou, have since followed suit. Three years later, Hongshan also stopped offering animal-feeding experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ministry\u2019s instructions apply only to the public city zoos it oversees; aquariums and wildlife parks<\/a> are not covered. Moreover, the ministry has no power of enforcement<\/a>. This is why the perception persists that some zoos in China exploit animals for profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether or not zoos should exist is an eternal debate. Historically, the four pillars of modern zoos are conservation, education, research and recreation. Some researchers believe<\/a> animal wellbeing should become the fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bai Yali says improving enclosures and stopping animal performances have the same aim: to rethink the role of a zoo, by putting the animals first. She thinks a zoo should be a venue for educating people, creating a link between people and the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In China, zoos began assuming an educational role relatively late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2006, Chengdu Zoo held<\/a> the first Academy for Conservation Training event in China. Over 40 workers from 28 Chinese zoos and conservation bodies received professional training, led by the Zoo Atlanta Conservation Education Division from the US. By 2008, this academy programme had produced<\/a> 161 graduates across 42 different Chinese zoos and wildlife parks, jointly representing over 40 million annual visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The education takes place in a range of ways. For example, information panels, live explanations from zookeepers during feeding time, or themed events such as the annual Orangutan Caring Week, which Hongshan Zoo takes part in<\/a>. The sustainability education group WildBound has worked with the zoo<\/a> to provide information on sustainable palm oil during these events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZoos are becoming more interesting, more lively and more immersive, with greater opportunities for learning and exchange,\u201d says Faye Lu, WildBound\u2019s chief impact officer. She tells Dialogue Earth that visitors are more likely to feel a connection with orangutans \u2013 and potentially take action to protect them \u2013 if they see one playing happily: \u201cThe most effective form of education is one that starts with caring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZoo education work isn\u2019t just about increasing total knowledge,\u201d says Bai Yali. \u201cMore important is bringing about behaviour change. A zoo\u2019s fundamental aim is to make visitors interested in animals, fond of animals, and concerned about their plight in the wild and the challenges they face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gauging the value of this work is difficult. The effectiveness of education seems to depend on how the zoo designs its events and exhibits, and how often<\/a> someone visits a zoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, there has not been much research into this for Chinese zoos. Based on her years of experience, Bai Yali thinks longer-term educational courses are more likely to help people make the necessary shift (from an emotional response, to understanding, to action) than strolling around a zoo. In 2021, Hongshan created the first nature education school to be set up inside a zoo: Natural Land<\/a>. Designed to bring about behaviour change, the courses on offer range from one day to a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe viral zoo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>The most effective form of education is one that starts with caring<\/blockquote>Faye Lu, WildBound<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
From entertainment to education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>The rise of education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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