Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong Overview

Located at Albany Road in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is the oldest zoological and botanical garden in the world which is home to a number of birds, mammals, reptiles and plants. Also referred to as Bing Tau Fa Yuen by the locals ('Bing Tau' means the head of soldiers and 'Fa Yuen' means garden), it is used for research purposes and to spread awareness about the different species with its educational programmes. Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is an ideal place to be visited by nature lovers, botanists, and tourists with young ones in tow.

Opened for the public in 1871 and spread over an area of 5.6 hectares, the garden is divided into eastern and western parts linked by the pedestrian subway. The eastern part, called the Old Garden, consists of numerous gardens, a playground for children and a greenhouse. The western part, called the New Garden, is home to the mammals and the reptiles. The visitors can stroll through the heritage trail at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens to unveil some historical facts and information about the garden.

Activities at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Guided Visits: Free guided visits are offered in Cantonese explaining the history of the garden and giving details about the flora and fauna. A session is held every Sunday and takes around 2 hours accommodating a total of 40 people.

Meet the Zookeepers: In this session, the visitors can have a word with the gardens’ zookeepers who share their daily experience of dealing with the in-house species and tell more about the animals. This two-hour session takes place on one weekend each month in Cantonese free of cost.

Zoological Exhibition: The visitors can also have a look at the zoological exhibition displayed by Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

Hong Kong Zoological And Botanical Gardens Map (Source)

Wildlife

Flora

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is home to over 900 indigenous tropical and subtropical species. There are plants from the groups of Gum Trees, Palm, Fig, Conifer, Camellia, Magnolia and Philodendron.
The Dawn Red-wood, Travellers-tree, Asoka Tree, Grantham's Camellia, Ailanthus, Royal Palm, The Norfolk Island Pine, Elephant Apple, Crapnell's Camellia, Forest Grey Gum and Yellow Camellia are some rare species with distinct fruit, shapes and bark.
Unique flowers can be seen blooming in Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Coral Tree, Wormia, Camel's Foot Tree, Spider Tree, Stiff Bottle-brush, Kassod Tree, Sweet Gum, Bald Cypress and Candlenut Tree.
Roses, Orange-jessamine, White Jade Orchid, Mock Lime, Chinese Privet and Kwai-fah are some flowers which can be found in the garden. The different species can be identified with the labels present beneath them.
The greenhouse at the garden comprises of over 150 species including bromeliads, orchids, climbers and ferns.
A trail linking over 23 Old and Valuable Trees finds space in the garden to provide the knowledge of these trees to the visitors.

Fauna

Some birds in Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens include American Flamingo, Bali Mynah, Red-crowned Crane, Ringed Teal, Hawaiian Goose, Blue Crane, Wood Duck, Old German Owl-Cream Bar Shield, Silver Pheasant, Old German Owl-Red Bar Shield, Old German Owl-Brown Bar Shield, Red-billed Hornbill among varied other species.
The multitude of mammals at the garden includes Bornean Orang-utan, Emperor Tamarin, Buff-cheeked Gibbon, Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, Siamang, Ring-tailed Lemur, White-faced Saki, Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth, Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Common Squirrel Monkey, De Brazza’s Monkey, Meerkat, Golden Lion Tamarin and Cotton-top Tamarin.
Radiated Tortoise and Spurred Tortoise are part of the reptiles.

Lemur at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden — A Lemur at the Zoological Garden (Source)

How to Reach Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Bus: Bus numbers 12, 12A, 12M, 13, 23, 23B, 40, 40M and 103 can be boarded to reach the garden.

Minibus: Minibus numbers 1A, 22, 22S and 28 serve Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

Peak Tram: The Peak Tram can be taken till Kennedy Road or MacDonnell Road. The nearest MTR stations to the garden are Admiralty or Central.