Like many other foreign-owned clubs, its property was in 1953 resumed by the new government, after the Chinese Communist Party took over Shanghai in 1949.

The zoo houses and exhibits more than 6,000 animals, among which are 600 Chinese animals that include giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, lions, South China tigers, hoopoe, black bulbuls, great hornbills and Bactrian camels.

Animals from other parts of the world include chimpanzees, giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, gorillas, ring tailed lemurs, common marmosets, spider monkeys, scimitar-horned oryx, african wild dogs, olive baboons, mandrills, Canadian lynxes and maned wolves.

The zoo endeavours to create an ecologically friendly environment for the animals - the 'Swan Lake' with its natural reed clumps and trees providing shade for pelicans, geese, black swans, night herons and other birds, is a perfect example of this.

The aim of the Shanghai Zoo is to have visitors leave with a better understanding of and appreciation for the animals and their environment.