Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden

Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden

Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden is located in Jianhua District, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. As the largest zoo and botanical garden in Northeast China and a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, it has been developed into an animal-themed park with northern characteristics. The project will continue to build a unique, multifunctional comprehensive ecological tourism destination integrating wildlife viewing, leisure vacations, water sightseeing, landscape real estate, and recreational entertainment. The total investment for the project is 550 million RMB. Once completed, Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden will greatly enrich the cultural life of local residents and further enhance Qiqihar’s appeal as a tourist destination.

The completion of Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden will greatly cater to people’s desire to

Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden is home to a variety of rare animals from five continents, as well as more than 120 kinds of precious plants located along the 47th parallel north. The park features over 20 venues, including the Texas Farm, Africa, Australasia World, Primate Rainforest, Fantastic Ecology Science Museum, North American Prairie, and performance arenas. It currently houses first-class nationally protected animals such as golden snub-nosed monkeys, takins, and red-crowned cranes, as well as rare South American and African animals seldom seen in northern regions. This allows residents to experience the natural scenery of the 47th parallel north without leaving the city. As the project progresses, it will be developed into a multifunctional comprehensive ecological tourism destination integrating wildlife viewing, leisure vacations, water sightseeing, landscape real estate, and recreational entertainment. During its trial operation period, Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden received over 30,000 visitors. Many children not only got up close to nationally protected animals but also learned a great deal of scientific knowledge related to flora and fauna, truly embodying the idea of learning outside the classroom.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden was held on May 11, 2013. With high attention and care from the municipal Party committee and government, and strong support from various municipal departments, the project was completed and opened for business in just 400 days, demonstrating Qiqihar’s favorable investment environment and efficient governance. Within these 400-plus days, all staff at Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden adhered to the principles of “emphasizing design, embracing new concepts, working at high speed, and maintaining high standards,” bringing the animal and plant culture of the 47th parallel north to their hometown. The completion of the zoo greatly satisfies people’s desire to reconnect with nature, love wildlife, and protect the ecological environment. It fills a gap in Qiqihar’s tourism industry and boosts the tourism economy of Qiqihar and even the northwest region. As the construction of Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden continues, it will also incorporate various unique natural landscapes and cultural elements from around the world located along the 47th parallel north, including features from Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, as well as the cultural and historical traditions of Northeast China and Qiqihar. These plans will be gradually implemented in the coming years, and Qiqihar will then boast a cultural tourism landmark created by modern Qiqihar residents.

The desire to love wildlife and protect the ecological environment will surely be welcomed by the public. It will also fill a gap in Qiqihar’s tourism industry and drive the tourism economic development of the hometown and even the northwest region. The construction of Longsha Zoo and Botanical Garden is the opening move of the “Longsha Tourism Resort,” also known as the “47th Parallel North International Tourism Resort.”

Major Attractions Edit

Texas Farm

The Texas Farm primarily showcases animals from the United States and the state of Texas in North America, located to the right after entering the park. Animals here include the American pony, guanaco, and anseries, among others. Ponies refer to horses with an adult height of less than 106 cm, known as ponies in English (as opposed to horses, which refer to larger breeds). They are beloved for their small size, intelligence, and gentle temperament. Suitable for viewing, entertainment, experiments, and labor, they are also great “friends” for children and the elderly. Due to their rarity, they are considered particularly precious—truly the gems among horses. Guanacos were once found in the western and southern regions of South America and are the most famous of the four camel-like animals in South America. Domesticated over 1,000 years ago, they are the only pack animal domesticated in the Western Hemisphere.

Five Tigers Cave

The Five Tigers Cave mainly features important tiger species from around the world, located in the northern part of the park. Key animals include the snow tiger (Bengal tiger), Amur tiger (Northeast tiger), white tiger, black jaguar, and golden tiger. Additionally, there is a argali sheep exhibition area in the northern part of the Five Tigers Cave visiting zone. The snow tiger is a further variation of the white tiger gene, occurring with a probability of one in 100,000. A subspecies of the Bengal tiger with a silver-white coat, it is a rare animal in the world. The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger or Amur tiger (the Russian name for the Heilongjiang River is Amur), is the largest living feline. Male Amur tigers can reach a total length of 4 meters, body length of 2.5–3 meters, shoulder height of 0.96 meters, and average weight of 189 kg. Their summer coat is brownish-yellow, and the winter coat is pale yellow. Their backs and flanks feature multiple rows of narrow black stripes, often appearing close together in a willow-leaf shape.

Lion Mountain

Lion Mountain is located in the central part of the park and mainly features fierce carnivorous animals. Key animals include the African lion, silver fox, Amur leopard, dhole, and wolf. The silver fox, also called the silver-black fox or black fox, gets its name because some of its guard hairs are white, while others have black roots and tips with a silvery-white middle. Originally from the northern regions of North America and eastern Siberia, it is a color mutation of the red fox under wild natural conditions. Thus, its body shape and appearance are the same as those of the red fox, with the only major difference being fur color. The silver fox has a pointed muzzle, round eyes, long ears, slender limbs, and a fluffy, long tail, making it a commonly kept fox breed. The dhole has a reddish-brown coat and is also called the red wolf. Smaller than a wolf but larger than a red fox, it has two molars on each side of the lower jaw, with a body length of 95–105 cm and a tail length of 45–50 cm. Its tail is long and dense, with a brown-black color resembling a fox’s tail. The dhole is the strongest and most ferocious and agile canid alive, and though smaller than wolves, it is more combative.

Asian Prairie

The Asian Prairie is located in the northwest part of the park and mainly features grassland animals from Asia. Key animals include the takin, red deer, sika deer, milu deer, fallow deer, Bactrian camel, black yak, and Guangxi pony. The takin is a first-class nationally protected animal. It is a large, sturdy bovine herbivore distributed in the dense forest areas at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas. Depending on the region, its coat color lightens from south to north. It is divided into four subspecies: the Gaoligong takin, Bhutan takin, Sichuan takin, and Qinling takin—all of which are found in China. It inhabits alpine regions above 2,500 meters, prefers to live in groups of about 20–30 individuals, sometimes up to 50. It is robust and fierce. Due to its rarity, with only a few thousand remaining in China, it is a first-class nationally protected animal. It is distributed across southwestern, northwestern China, as well as Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Myanmar. The takin is the national animal of Bhutan, where it is called the “takin.”

Happy Bird Park

Happy Bird Park is located in the southwest part of the park and mainly features birds. Key animals include the red-crowned crane, white-naped crane, hooded crane, demoiselle crane, white stork, black stork, greater flamingo, red-and-green macaw, blue-and-yellow macaw, golden pheasant, Lady Amherst’s pheasant, silver pheasant, Reeves’s pheasant, peafowl, American flamingo, Himalayan griffon, tawny eagle, mute swan, whistling swan, swan goose, black swan, great white pelican, blue eared pheasant, black-necked swan, ground hornbill, and Eurasian eagle-owl. Among them, the red-crowned crane, flamingo, and golden pheasant are relatively rare along the same latitude.

Africa

The Africa animal area is located in the eastern part of the park and mainly features animals distributed across the African continent. Key animals include the hamadryas baboon, gemsbok, scimitar-horned oryx, blue wildebeest, lesser adjutant stork, East African crowned crane, giraffe, slender-tailed mongoose, and plains zebra. The giraffe and zebra are among the more precious and rare animals.

Primate Rainforest

Key animals include the ring-tailed lemur, golden snub-nosed monkey, chimpanzee, De Brazza’s monkey, patas monkey, macaques, mandrill, green monkey, black-capped squirrel monkey, and squirrel monkeys. Among them, the golden snub-nosed monkey is a first-class nationally protected animal and is quite rare.

North American Forest

The North American Forest is located in the northeast part of the park and mainly features forest animals from North America. Key animals include the cougar, Arctic wolf, black bear, lynx, brown bear, and wolverine. The wolverine is relatively rare in China along the 47th parallel north.

North American Prairie

The North American Prairie is located in the northeast part of the park and mainly features prairie animals from North America. This section has fewer animals, mainly including the mouflon and reindeer. The mouflon is relatively rare and precious.

Australasia World

Australasia World is located in the northern part of the park and mainly features animals from the Australian and Asian continents. Key animals include the Asian small-clawed otter, desert cat, red kangaroo, emu, red panda, water monitor, white Bennett’s wallaby, tawny eagle, nutria, and Thailand estuarine crocodile. Among them, the kangaroo and red panda are relatively precious and rare in the northeastern region.

Ancient Castle Performance Theater

The Ancient Castle Performance Theater is located in the western part of the park and primarily features exciting animal performances. It can accommodate up to 1,000 visitors at a time.

Performance Schedule:

Performance times from Monday to Friday: 11:00–11:45, 14:00–14:45

Performance times on Saturday and Sunday: 11:00–11:45, 13:00–13:45, 15:00–15:45

Animal Ice and Snow World

The first-ever Animal Ice and Snow World at Qiqihar Longsha Zoo combines animal elements with festive cheer, integrating live animal displays, realistic ice-sculpted animals, and fun animal-themed activities.

Hosted by the Qiqihar Municipal Government and organized by Longsha Zoo, China’s first Animal Ice and Snow World at Qiqihar Longsha Zoo grandly opened on January 6, 2014. It blends animal elements with holiday festivity, merging live animal exhibits, realistic ice-lamp animal sculptures, and playful animal-themed features. The event also creatively incorporates sound, light, and motion effects within ice hangings, ice carvings, and ice structures. Visitors can enjoy the outdoor ice-lamp scenery and indoor animal performances, adding joy to the winter season at latitude 47°N.

Covering a total area of 50,000 square meters, the Animal Ice and Snow World used 10,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, with a total investment of 5 million yuan. It is divided into 10 exhibition areas (spots), including two colorful lantern display zones. These areas are: European Charm, Auspicious Blessings, Animal Kingdom, Happy Land, Idiom Tales, Ice Hanging Wonders, Speed Thrills, Ice and Snow Playground, Lanterns Greeting Spring, and Soaring Dragon scenic zones.

To enhance visitor enjoyment and interactivity, organizers have introduced a variety of engaging activities alongside existing ice and snow attractions. These include building photo walls with ice (or snow) blocks, hosting sledding competitions and snow soccer matches, as well as parent-child crate-pushing (using tires or similar items) contests. An XBOX motion-sensing skiing game machine has been installed for children to experience simulated skiing. Additional activities feature reindeer sleigh and horse-drawn carriage parades, as well as lantern riddle guessing games.