Hongshan Forest Zoo (Chinese: 红山森林动物园; pinyin: Hóngshān sēnlín dòngwùyuán) is a zoological park in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu province, China.

Located on 168 Heyan Road in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing, it is a 168.03 acres (68.00 ha) park and forest with 85% green coverage rate.

Despite facing challenges such as a sharp decline in visitors and reduced revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, the zoo has maintained its ticket price at 40 yuan for 15 years.

Chang Zonghui ,the director of the Xuanwu Lake Management Bureau at the time, proposed the idea of establishing an "Animal Garden" to the Nanjing government.

The garden simply used two large net enclosures to fence off the area, with different animals placed in separate cages, and there was no formal architectural design.

Lu Xun commented to a friend, after seeing this report, that two of the three odd individuals were deformed, while the one with the large head was a patient with cerebral edema, which was quite pitiful to be placed in the zoo.

[11][12] The motivation behind this decision arose in 2011, when the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China (MOHURD) issued “Document No.

At the same time, bear valleys, tiger gardens, and leopard houses were renovated based on the zoo's existing terrain.

After much consideration, director Shen decided to withhold employees' half-year performance bonuses, prioritizing the supply of animal feed.

It installed barriers in narrow pathways, converting them into one-way routes; security staff were stationed at the smaller venue entrances to manage the flow of visitors.

Additionally, a 1-meter-wide, 20-meter-long red carpet was laid outside the north gate, and many local media outlets were invited to cover the reopening.

[9] In August 2020, when the zoo was at a breaking point, director Shen wrote a letter to then-Mayor of Nanjing, Han Liming, but after more than half a month of deliberation, he still couldn't decide whether to send it.

As pandemic restrictions eased, large numbers of visitors began flocking to the zoo, and the ”Virtual Animal Adoption“ program also surged in popularity.

[10] Soon after, Hongshan Zoo ventured into cultural and creative products, launching a series of souvenirs including refrigerator magnets, plush toys, hats, scarves, and eco-friendly bags.

[8] To promote harmonious coexistence between animals and humans, the zoo has been conducting the "Xiao Hongshan Biodiversity Conservation and Public Education" survey since 2014.

The survey revealed that small animals, such as weasels, raccoon dogs, badgers, and red-bellied tree squirrels, frequently appeared in the area.

[24] On the afternoon of June 5, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., the orangutan Le Shen used a bed sheet to pull open the electric fence and escaped onto the roof of Great Ape Pavilion.

During the process of being transferred indoors and regaining consciousness, Le Shen developed an anesthetic complication pulmonary edema, which led to sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Le Shen was the first animal in the zoo to cooperate with keepers for physical check-ups, learning to brush his teeth within an hour.

[1][4] The zoo is home to rare animals from around the world, including Asian elephants, giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, white tigers, jaguars, and orangutans, as well as first-class nationally protected species such as giant pandas, golden monkeys, and gibbons.

Other species include the egret, moorhen, black kite, oriental turtle dove, cuckoo, dollarbird, and grey-capped greenfinch.

[27] As of May 2015, the zoo covers an area of 1,026 mu (approximately 68.4 hectares) and is home to over 400 plant species, ranging from ferns to arbor trees, with a forest coverage exceeding 85%.

[3] Among them, species like cedar, ginkgo, magnolia, camphor, dawn redwood, and red maple majorly contribute to the zoo's mountainous landscape.

There are protected animals including as Asian elephants, giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, white tiger, panther, orangutan, mandrill, flamingo, macaw, parrots, gold python.

The first degree protected species from China at the zoo include giant pandas, golden monkeys, gibbons, red-crowned crane, northeast tigers, and Chinese alligators.