Shanghai Chang Feng Ocean World 上海长风海洋世界

Today was a fishy day for our family. We went to the Shanghai famouse Chang Feng Ocean World 上海长风海洋世界. This ocean world is at Gate No 4 of the Chang Feng Park 长风公园. The exact address is 上海市普陀区大渡河路451号 (长风公园4号门). This ocean world opens daily at 8.30am.

The main aquarium building

The normal entrance ticket per adult is RMB120. However, I have managed to get a discount to RMB100 by making a pre-reservation online in the early morning 2 hours before we arrived. Chang Feng Ocean World website can be found at:
http://www.oceanworld.com.cn/

Ethan is free as usual because he is less than 1 meter in height. This ocean world consists of 2 parts, the aquarium and the beluga stadium. The aquarium is located beneath an ornamental lake in Chang Feng Park (Shanghai's oldest park). This ticket allowed us to visit both the main aquarium and the beluga stadium 极地白鲸表演馆. Beluga is a type of whale.

Main entrance

Immediately after the entrance to the aquarium, there were displays of small mini aquariums that was decorated like picture frames. Within the aquariums are small fishes like guppies, barb, etc.

Ethan will a shark statue

Small picture frame aquariums

After these small aquarium, there is a staircase that led down to a cave-like environment. This environment is a recreation of the ancient Inca and Mayan culture.

Trees and parrots

The aquariums within were displayed with different themes. Some were created in the jungle environment. Apart from fishes, there were frogs, crocodile, turtles, etc.

Background did not turn out well as it was dark

Some of the displays

Different themes

Seals and otters

Rocks that formed bridge to cross over

Took Ethan across rope bridge with crocodile watching at one end

We came to one of the display that made the aquarium looks like a painting with field of flowers.

There was also a exhibition which is meant to educate small kids on fishes and ecological system. Here kids could flip the chart for the correct answer to questions behind.

Portholes aquarium with fishes

Enchanted underwater garden of Little Mermaid

Corals with fishes

Finally we arrived the the undersea tunnel which has sharks, stingray, large turtles swimming around us. This is a tube tunnel that could allow one to observe sharks swimming from the side and also on top over us.

Since shark feeding time was at 2.30pm, we did not wait up for the feeding hour. It was mostly because we want to catch the 1.30pm white whale show. The last display was the penguin pool. Here, there are penguins that jumped into the water and swam around passed in front of the tank.

Cute little fellows - these penguins

Escalator the led towards the exit

There was an aquarium that is made to look like ancient Chinese literature scroll. Even got a Chinese poem written by the side of the main aquarium.

At last we completed our tour of the main aquarium building. After the exit of the souvenir shop, there is a restaurant here. From the outside, we could see the lake and the boating dock.

Photo in front of the restaurant sign board

We headed back to the main aquarium building to ask for direction of whereabout of the next attraction we are going - the Beluga stadium. One the way we noticed this car. The internal had been converted to an aquarium. One can see fishes swimming around in the internal of this car.

Car-aquarium

It seemed that the Beluga stadium is another 10 minutes walk from the main aquarium building. One would have to walk through the Chang Feng Park in order to get there. Thus, we sort of rushed to the stadium because there was another 30 minutes before the show started.

There are shuttle tram cars which takes visitors to the stadium at a charge. People who do not want to walk can take this service. You would not miss the Beluga stadium because it is just along the lake. So if you walk circling the lake, you are sure to get there.

We took the opportunity to sightseeing around the park as we walked to the stadium.

There is a bridge that links some point of the lake. Apart from this, the garden is also quite well maintained with some landscaping. Some rocks formation and lotus ponds. Even has statues of art on sight.

We managed to reach the Beluga stadium in good time. 15 minutes well ahead before the start at 1.30pm. However, there were already lots of people seated in the stadium waiting.

Main entrance of the Beluga Stadium

The show lasted 1 hour or so and has 3 seals and 2 beluga as the main attraction.

The Beluga or White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic species of cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the Narwhal. The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale that is white as an adult. The beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, thick layers of blubber, and a rounded melon. It is up to 5 m (15 ft) in length. They have one blowhole.

Beluga means "white one" in Russian. Its genus, Delphinapterus, means "whale without fins", and the species, leucas, means white. The beluga is also called the white whale, the white porpoise, the sea canary (because of its songs), and the squid hound (due to its diet). Unlike most other cetaceans, the beluga's seven neck vertebrae are not fused, giving it a flexible, well-defined neck.

Kid loved the seals as they went through the routine, dancing, singing, flipping, playing neck loop throwing and clapping. Some lucky audience are allowed to sit in a boat and pushed by beluga and also had a chance to touch the head of the beluga.