Hongshan Forest Zoo — Attraction in Nanjing City

Pandas. Worthwhile to see the pandas, and some of their enclosures were quite large. It seems they are rotated around enclosures during the day depending on the weather, I empathised with them being out in the heat though and they moved around as much as you'd expect - wouldn't get hopes up for seeing any Kung fu. Some animals such as the big cats did seem to be somewhat confined. The electric caddies were a lifesaver to access the large park quickly and efficiently stopping off at different areas, and are locked to the user for convenience. The park was well organised and clean, and it generally felt (and I'm hoping) that investment went towards the animal welfare and conservation. There was plenty of education...

Fairly cheap ticket prices.

Good range of animals (elephants, rhinos, pandas). English language signage is very basic without much meaningful information. Some enclosures are closed without any notice, we wasted a lot of time trying to get to the reptile area but it's impossible.

From an animal welfare perspective, it looks... not as terrible as other places in China. The enclosures aren't particularly big or enriching but it's not the worst I've seen.

Huge crowds on a normal weekend day, be prepared to muscle your way to the front to get a decent view of anything.

Food when inside is not great and...

It's a decent zoo but it is marred by over-tourism. On weekends and especially pubic holidays, it is so crowded as to not be enjoyable at all. The exhibits are relatively well-maintained, but there aren't any along the many walkways. Which means you'll be walking for a while without seeing anything. This also means that once there is something to see, it is really crowded because the crowds don't have a chance to thin out. Oh and the panda exhibit sucks because there are so many people you have to literally elbow your way to the front if you want to see anything at all. Personally, I'd skip the panda...