Description: I ended up in the aquarium in Shanghai simply because it was pouring rain. I was with a group of colleagues and we wanted to get out of the rain, and the aquarium was the first place we saw. We paid the equivalent of about $5 for entry.
The aquarium mapped out to start with the beginning of time, and moving onto the present day. So the first things you see are mudskipper type fish, that apparently were around at the start of life on earth. You follow the experience round and see all sorts of strange fish and mammals.
I have to say that having been to an aquarium in just about every place I have ever visited, this one is the best. It is incredibly clean and very easy to get around. They also boast the longest underwater tunnel, where you see sharks, rays, etc., swimming around you.
The viewing areas are themed, so you will see beaches and shipwrecks etc. This makes it very interesting. All the information points are in both Chinese and English, and it is obvious that the Chinese want to start conserving their wildlife.
If you go to Shanghai, I would strongly suggest you go to the aquarium, even if, like me you have been to many others.
There is the obligatory shop as you exit, which has a very strange way of handling purchases. My colleague was buying stuffed toys for his kids and he picked one up from a huge display to take to the till and the woman, who spoke no English grabbed it off him and gave him a ticket instead. The same happened with another person. You then take the ticket to the till and someone goes back to the display and picks up the item you wanted and brings it to the till for purchase—very odd indeed.
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