What to do
Are Shanghai's zoo and aquarium worth visiting?
The answer depends on who is going. With children, either is a solid half day, and the aquarium is the more reliable of the two because the weather does not decide it; an adult travelling without children is usually trading half a day for animals seen through glass, and Shanghai has better half days. A zoo lives on good weather, with summer heat and weekend crowds as real costs, while the aquarium works in rain and heat alike. Both charge admission, and whether you need to book and what time they open vary, so check the venue's own information for the day.
Last updated3 min read
The question is not whether they are good but who they are for, and either costs half a day.
The answer, split by traveller
With children, yes. For a child who walks on their own, a zoo or an aquarium is a complete half day: something to look at, somewhere to run, no reading required. The aquarium is the safer of the two.
Without children, usually no. An adult with three or five days trades half a day for animals seen through glass on concrete, with no hedge about it.
What each of them is actually like
The zoo is larger than a European one and harder-edged. More ground, longer walks, more concrete and cages, less habitat: a very big park, many animals, little planting in layers.
The aquarium is usually better than expected, and the stronger of the two. Tunnels, large tanks and jellyfish rooms are done seriously; the cost is weekend crowds and a one-way route with no way back.
The weather suits them in opposite ways. A zoo needs dry, temperate weather, and summer heat turns the outdoors into a burden; the aquarium runs on bad weather, rain or glare.
What decides the day, and the welfare question
- Walking. There are no shortcuts and the whole park is walked; the child runs out first.
- Heat. Most of a summer visit is on unshaded paths, and going in at opening is the only answer.
- Weekends. Crowds turn watching animals into watching people, and the popular enclosures are unreachable.
- Cages or animals. If the strongest memory is fencing and concrete, it was not worth it; if the child crouches at one enclosure for twenty minutes, it was.
- How long the child lasts. Half a day is the ceiling, and after two hours there must be food, a seat and an exit.
On animal welfare: standards here vary, and within one park some exhibits are much better than others: open, shaded, somewhere for the animal to withdraw; others are concrete and a rail. Four things are enough to judge by: whether the animal can retreat or is exposed to people all day; whether the ground is earth, grass or sand or dead concrete; whether it paces a fixed line or sways its head; whether the space is enough to turn around in. If you are uncomfortable, leaving is always legitimate. This argues neither for going nor for staying away.
A good visit, and the practical part
Order. Go in at opening, walk the furthest section first, and come back past the exit; in the aquarium, walk the route once, then return to the tanks you liked.
Pace it by stamina, not the map. Pause for twenty minutes of sitting and eating in the middle; the total is unchanged and the result is not. A stroller works in both, and moves slowly in a crowd.
Food. Eating inside is expensive and ordinary; carry something small, and put the proper meal before or after.
Tickets. Both charge admission and may need booking ahead; hours, closing days and entry rules differ and change, so check the venue’s information for the day.
Who should go: families with children; anyone in Shanghai for more than three days with a bad-weather morning to fill; adults interested in aquatic life. Who can skip it: adults with three or five days whose goal is the city itself; anyone who cannot walk far; anyone uneasy about captive animals.
One honest closing line: with a child the aquarium is worth a morning and the zoo a morning of good weather; without one, both can be skipped.