Shenzhen Safari Park, located in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, China, is a wildlife adventure worth exploring for any animal enthusiast or family looking for a day of fun and education. This expansive park is one of the first to adopt a ‘free-range’ approach in China, allowing many of its animals to roam relatively freely within large, open areas that mimic their natural habitats, a stark contrast to traditional zoos.
Covering an area of over 1.2 million square meters, the park is home to more than 300 different species of wild animals, many of which are rare and endangered. Visitors have the opportunity to see these animals up close, including majestic Siberian tigers, playful chimpanzees, and giant pandas, which are a highlight for many and a symbol of China’s wildlife conservation efforts.
Safari enthusiasts can embark on a self-driven tour or take a guided bus tour through areas sectioned for herbivores and carnivores, offering a rare chance to observe predators like lions and bears without the confines of cages. The park is designed with safety in mind, ensuring that while the animals have freedom, visitors are still protected.
The park also features performances and educational shows, which typically include acts by well-trained animals such as birds of prey, elephants, and sea lions. It’s important to note that while these shows are popular, visitors should be aware of and consider the ongoing debates surrounding animal performances in terms of ethics and animal welfare.
For families with children, Shenzhen Safari Park offers interactive experiences, such as feeding some of the animals, and a petting zoo where kids can get close to gentler animals under supervision. These hands-on activities are designed to educate young visitors about wildlife and the importance of conservation while still being entertaining.
The Shenzhen Safari Park Zones
Shenzhen Safari Park has three zones, which are based on the living habits of its different animals. These zones are:
The Beast of Prey Zone
This zone of Shenzhen Safari Park houses hunters of this wonderful zoo. The animals that you can encounter in this zone are lions, South China Tigers, Siberian tigers, White Bengal Tigers, cheetahs, bears, and wolves. Here, the animals are all hunters and carnivores. In Shenzhen Safari Park, you also have the opportunity to see rare Lions and Tigers hybrids like Tiglons and Ligers.
The Herbivore Zone
Shenzhen Safari Park’s Herbivore Zone is where you can see herbivorous animals. Here, you have the chance to visit kangaroos, giraffes, zebras, camels, hippopotamuses, swans, and flamingos. If you love to see the Giant Pandas -Symbolic Chinese Animal, consider yourself lucky because you can find them in this zone. If you want to know more about Giant Pandas, you should visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
The Herbivore Zone is home to the largest swan lake in China, and you can take a boat ride on it too. By riding the boat on this lake, you can have a closer look at the swans and be stunned by their beauty.
Besides the swans, the koi fish also live in the lake of Shenzhen Safari Park. The koi and the swans have developed a nutritional relationship. When the swans dip their food pellets in the water to moisten, the koi will eat these pellets when immersed in the water.
The Performance and Walking Zone
The Performance and Walking Zone is a pedestrian area for watching and enjoying wonderful performances. Here you can have a look at red orangutans and many other animals such as different kinds of birds, sea lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys, pandas, snakes, and crocodiles. You can enjoy various shows performed by these animals and circus performers from China and Russia. All of these shows and performances are very interesting, and watching them would attract you.
In this part, there are also funny wedding ceremonies performed by bears while the red crown cranes are dancing around. Another trendy and exciting performance conducted in the Shenzhen Safari Park is a show with nearly 1,000 animals alongside 300 actors. In this show, the parade leaders are elephants while other animals such as lions and tigers follow them and the pigeons are hovering over the sky.
The Ocean World and Zoological Center
The Ocean World and Zoological Center is an exciting part of the Shenzhen Safari Park. It is the largest Zoological Center in all of China, which provides a lot of information about animals for its visitors. Here, you can learn about different animals through pictures and touchscreen devices, which can be very interesting for both adults and children.
In this part of the park, you can also watch sea animals such as lemon sharks, white fin sharks, blackfin sharks, spotted dolphins, and sea lions. There is also a Happy Ocean musical drama featuring mid-air acrobatics and high diving performances by sea animals.
Performances Schedule
Beasts’ Pageant | |
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Time | Monday to Friday at 15:00, and Weekends and Holidays at 16:30 |
Location | Performing Square |
Tiger Show | |
Time | Monday to Friday at 11:00, 13:00, 14:00 (Suspended on Wednesday), and Weekends and Holidays at 10:30, 12:00 |
Location | Tiger Leaping Gorge |
Elephant Show | |
Time | Monday to Friday at 11:00, 13:00, and Weekends and Holidays at 11:00, 13:30, 15:00 |
Location | Wild Elephant Valley |
Circus | |
Time | Monday to Friday at 12:00, 14:00, and Weekends and Holidays at 12:00, 14:00, 15:00 |
Location | Circus Hall |
Happy Ocean | |
Time | Monday to Friday at 15:00, and Weekends and Holidays at 12:30, 14:30, 17:10 |
Location | Ocean World |
Birds’ Show | |
Time | Monday to Friday at 11:00, 13:30, 15:00, and Weekends and Holidays at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 |
Location | Birds Performing Stadium |
Dance with Shark | |
Time | Weekends and Holidays at 14:00 |
Location | Ocean World |
Tourist Guide
Shenzhen Safari Park Bus
If you are not comfortable walking all around the safari park, there are shuttle buses that will take you around the park in a more convenient manner. The price of these buses is 20 Yuan per person, and when you buy it, you can use it for an unlimited amount of time in a day.
How To Get To? | |
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By Metro | Go on Line 7 and get off at Xili Lake Station. Walk toward the northeast for about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) |
By Bus | Get on 36, 49, 66, 101, 104, 226, M460, M492, B736, B796, and B797 buses and get off at Dongwuyuan Station. |
Prices | |
Adults | 240 Yuan |
Children (1.2 – 1.5 meters) | 140 Yuan |
Children (less than 1.2 meters) | Free |
Nights | 90 Yuan |
Working Hours | |
Day | 9:30 – 18:00 |
Night | 6:30 – 21:00 (only between May and October) |
It is important to mention that an adult can bring one kid for a free ticket and extra children should pay the discount fee. Which zone of the park was more interesting for you? Feel free to leave your comments and even questions for us. We are prepared to reply to the questions about Shenzhen Safari Park as early as possible.