A Tour of China in Winter
Part 1b
A Visit to the Beijing Aquarium
By Howard Norfolk
Original to Aquarticles.com
The Beijing Aquarium is located in the grounds of the Beijing Zoo. It was
constructed in the late 1990s at a cost of US$9.3 million. (But given the artificially low
value of the yuan, and the low labour rates in China, I imagine it would cost at
least five times that much in the West). When built it was billed as the largest aquarium
in Asia, and the largest inland aquarium in the World.
It is located in a large parkland area that also contains the Beijing Zoo.
I visited in late December, 2004:
Entry at the gate near the car park cost US$12, and included
admission to the Zoo.
Click on photos for enlargements, then
go 'BACK' :
My friends and I walked towards the Aquarium. It was winter - we
passed by a Chinese snowman.
 
The huge modern building is in the shape of a conch shell, and has
an impressive mural.
A sign told of Christmas activities. According to a brochure I
picked up, there was to be 'Xmas Fun' with 'a snowmaking machine in the square, Christmas
trees and wooden houses, snow sculptures, sledding, a campfire party and an indoor party
with lucky draws.'
One is well aware of Christmas in China. Most people have no religious beliefs at all, but
'Xmas' has become a major commercial event, with all the trappings such as decorations,
trees and Santas.
 
The Aquarium is built on a massive scale, with huge open areas and
passageways.
It is divided into eight main zones. We entered 'Rainforest
Adventure.'
 
Curiously, the first thing we came across here was a pond with
hundreds of koi. Visitors could buy food to feed them.
 
There was a winding pathway, with well-stocked tanks set in
artificial rock. The tops of the tanks were open, like ponds.
 
This tank included Jack Dempseys.
  
There were larger creatures, such as this tiger shovelnose cat,
arapaima (with red-tailed catfish), and Chinese giant salamander.
 
The archer fish had a 'show' of their own. They were fed twice daily
at set times.
A similar series of open tanks held coldwater fish.
  
Billy, our guide, wanted to take a photo of these Myxocyprinus
asiaticus with his cellphone camera. They were quite active and reacted with him.
These specimens are full-grown, and quite different from the cute little black and white
striped 'hi-fin sharks' or 'batfish' that we see in our aquarium shops.
Myxocyprinus asiaticus are native to China, so perhaps we
should all agree to use the 'official' Chinese common name "Chinese sailfin
sucker" as noted on their sign.
Some of the signs in the Aquarium were bilingual Chinese/English, but this one was in
Chinese only (apart from the common name).
We heard that the sea lion/dolphin show was about to begin. To quote the
brochure (exactly): 'It's Broadway on the sea, more than 3000 seats, a huge pool, and
excellent show by the marine animals. The humoristic sea lions' acrobatics and the water
ballet performed by the dolphins will certainly exceed your imagination.'
The sea lions did their tricks...
  
...followed by the dolphins. There weren't many visitors that day
and most of the seats were empty. I found the stadium a little too large for comfort. The
performers seemed like mere dots in the distance. The zoom on my camera makes them appear
closer.
 
Behind the dolphin stadium is the Marine Mammals exhibit, where the
sea lions and dolphins could be seen up close.
 
We passed through an area that is set up for children, with a touch
pool,...
 
...a small gift shop that specialised in shells, and even an arcade
games room.
 
We had lunch at 'Yummy Yummy.'
Yummy Yummy served American fast food as well as Chinese, which was
very yummy to me after all the wok-fried meals I had been eating. Hamburger and fries was
an exotic meal to both my Indian friend Mani and our guide Billy who were both raised on
rice, so we were all happy. (But noticing the glazed looks on their faces, perhaps they
weren't quite as keen as I was to get the meal over with quickly, so that we could go and
stare at lots and lots more fish?).
We walked past a snowman into the Shark Aquarium...
 
...where we viewed a very impressive shark tank.
This brilliantly lit passage led to an upper floor...
 
...where there were more tanks and information about sharks...
...and a view from a balcony back down into the large tank.
We rented 3D glasses to enter this 'submarine', where we saw a 3D
movie about underwater life, and some interesting static electricity light effects.
Going back up an escalator we passed by hundreds of fish on strings,
which decorated a high wall.
At the top was 'Wonders of Coral Reefs.'
  
The Coral Reef zone had lots of tanks like this.
Garibaldi damselfish (Hypsypops rubicundus). The large sign
above the tank boasts - 'In China, only there can you see it...' But since this fish
is native to California, I think this must mean that these are the only examples in China,
and that you can only see them here.
A tunnel through a large tank...
 
...led to a long passageway with yet more exhibits.
 
Blackbar soldierfish (Miripristis jacobus), blue
surgeonfish (Paracanthus hepatus), and emperor snappers (Lutjanus sebae).
 
More and more tanks, including cylindrical ones...
...ending up in a large chamber, with a very large two-storey tank
(on the left)...
...that could be looked down upon over the railing. This was in fact
just the small top side edge of the tank.
Something was going on! So we took an escalator down through the
large tank...
 
...and found a diver feeding the turtles by hand.
The main gift shop was near the exit.
 
It offered the usual stuffed toys and clothing...
 
...and fishy ornaments.
  
Of more interest were these dried and varnished piranhas. The large
one was US$28, and the smaller ones $US14.50.
I have seen the exact same things sold as tourist souvenirs in Iquitos on the Amazon River
in Peru, so presumably they came from there.
Also interesting were these real fish and invertebrates preserved in
formalin.
 
As we walked back to the car park we came across some modern
sculptures. The fish on the left are made from old car parts, using washers as scales.
No expense or effort seems to have been spared to make the Beijing
Aquarium as impressive as possible. When the Chinese decide to do something nowadays, they
do it well!
Go to the next in this series:
China Tour Part 1c: An Arcade of Aquarium
Shops in Beijing
The whole Tour of China in Winter series:
Part 1a: Introduction, and the Tourist Sights
of Beijing (Tourist sights)
Part 1b: A Visit to the Beijing Aquarium (Public aquarium)
Part 1c: An Arcade of Aquarium Shops in
Beijing (Aquarium shops)
Part 1d: The Beijing Museum of
Natural History (Tourist sights)
Part 2a: Xi'an and the Army of
Terracotta Warriors (Tourist sights)
Part 2b: An Aquarium Market in Xi'an
(Aquarium shops)
Part 3a: The Spectacular Scenery of Guilin
(Tourist sights)
Part 3b: A Visit to the Guilin Ocean
Aquarium (Public aquarium)
Part 4a: The Space-Age City of Shanghai (Tourist sights)
Part 4b: A Visit to the Shanghai Ocean
Aquarium (Public aquarium)
Part 4c: Jiangyin Road, a Street of Aquarium
Shops in Shanghai (Aquarium shops)
Part 5: Fish Seen in Chinese
Restaurants (Native fish)
Part 6a: A Photographic Visit to Ocean Park,
Hong Kong (Public aquarium)
Part 6b: The Goldfish Pagoda at Ocean Park,
Hong Kong (Public aquarium)
See also (after a previous visit to Hong Kong):
Tung Choi. The Amazing Aquarium Store Street in Hong
Kong (Aquarium shops)
Or, back to:
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