Jinan Zoo was originally named as Jinniu Park and later the Jinniu Zoo. It was built in October 1959 and opened on May 1, 1960. It was renamed as Jinan Zoo in September, 1989. Jinan Zoo is located in Tianqiao District, the northern part of Jinan City. There are over 200 types of animals in the zoo now.
Jinan Zoo is one of the largest-scale zoos in China. It has received the strong supports from all sectors of the society for more than 60 years after its establishment. It is now a comprehensive zoo integrating animal breeding, viewing, scientific research, entertainment and catering services together. In 1995, it was rated as "National Top Ten Zoo" by the Ministry of Construction.
Today's Jinan Zoo
After more than 40 years of hard work, Jinan Zoo has made great achievements in the popularization of animal knowledge, animal protection, and animal scientific research and breeding. Since its opening, more than 3,000 animals of more than 260 species have been exhibited to the public.
The zoo is divided into animal exhibition area, entertainment area, science education area, catering area and animal performance area. The peacock free-range area has been open since 1999. In 2000, 800,000 Chinese yuan was invested to build the most advanced herbivore area in China, covering an area of more than 50 acres.
Jinan Zoo has gathered a group of professionals in the field of zoology. It has successfully bred Asian elephants, golden monkeys, gibbons, black langurs, takins, black storks, white storks, Siberian tigers, grey kangaroos, white-lipped deer, giraffes, seals and other kinds of the precious animals.
Among them, the freshwater breeding and breeding of the harbor seals has reached to the top level in China. The breeding and research project of the Bengal tiger has won the third prize of Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. The breeding and research of the black stork also won a prize among the professional breeding programs in China. There are a pair of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys here which were introduced in 1992.
The animal houses and garden buildings in the park are hidden among the green trees. The Zoo also has the tea houses, food shops, restaurants and other supporting service facilities, as well as amusement facilities such as bumper cars, space walks, flying squirrels and carousels. The zoo often holds various new and exotic animal exhibitions to meet the requirements of different people.