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Super Kungfu Panda lovers, how could you leave Beijing without seeing real pandas!

Each day, enthusiastic visitors from across the globe brave far distances to come the Beijing Zoo for a look at this clumsy, adorable, and precious animal that China regards its national treasure.

The zoo was opened in 1908, just a few years before the Qing dynasty ended. It was Chinas first zoo ever. It now houses a collection of 500 species with over 6,000 animals. There are rare species such as golden monkeys, Siberian tigers, precious birds, and of course, giant pandas.

The panda is obviously the big star here!

You will agree the only thing that is cuter than a panda is a panda playing with another panda! One bearhugs the other, and the two roll around like a big meat ball. You just cant stop laughing when seeing their clumsy Kungfu moves. Sometimes you simply start wondering if these pandas were on their beach vacation, for their amusing eye circles remind you of sunglasses!

Pandas in the Beijing Zoo just love climbing trees. When the weather is hot, they will find a shady spot up in the tree and tap a nap. No, food wont be enough to get us down!

Pandas are now vegetarians, and their favorite food is a special Jianzhu bamboo found only in Chinas Sichuan province, where most of Chinas pandas come from. However, pandas were carnivores a million years ago, and they preyed on unsuspecting smaller animals. The reason for this change is still unknown to zoologists.

In the zoo, panda lovers can donate money for the protection of pandas in China. Pandas are very precious, and less than 1,500 live today. China regards this rare species its national treasure because pandas started to appear on earth several million years ago, and very few other species from that time survive to this day. Thus pandas are considered a living fossil and are an extremely rare animal that needs to be protected. That is probably why the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) chooses the panda as its symbol.

China is the only country to find a panda, and on certain occasions, the Chinese government gives a panda to a foreign country as a symbol of friendship. So feel lucky for yourself if youve ever seen a panda in San Diego or Berlin.

You are allowed to take photos in the zoo, but remember to keep your flash off, for pandas are very shy.

Also, there are all kinds of panda gifts sold in the zoo. They are great things to bring back home! A baby panda toy goes for 60 RMB (about $10), a panda T-shirt runs 70 RMB, and a key chain with lovely panda image sells for only 10 RMB.