Beijing Haiyangguan (Beijing Aquarium)

"The world's largest inland aquarium" attracted plenty of opposition from local environmental groups when it opened in 1999, and the logic of keeping countless marine animals so far from the sea is questionable. Efforts to compensate are obvious -- an environmental message is laid on thickly in the Chinese captions. Introducing Chinese children to the concept that shrimp can exist somewhere other than in a sea of garlic sauce has to be commended, although descriptions of "horrible" sharks show there's a ways to go in its efforts. Dolphin shows at 11am and 3pm pack in the one-child families. Beijing Zoo (Beijing Dongwuyuan) lies to the south, and despite improvements to some areas -- notably the Panda House -- the zoo is more likely to traumatize your child than provide entertainment. It is possible to take a boat from the canal south of the aquarium to the Summer Palace (50-min. trip; ¥40 one-way, ¥70 round-trip).

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