The cable car over the giraffes
Halfway through my first day at Chimelong, I was in a cable car, drifting maybe fifteen meters above the ground, looking down at a herd of giraffes browsing acacia trees while a herd of zebra crossed the road below. A kid behind me was screaming with delight. His father was filming. Somewhere to the west, a lion roared. It is one of the strangest ways to see animals I have experienced anywhere, and it tells you what this place is: not a zoo, not a theme park, but something in between, built at a scale that only makes sense in a country with this many people who want to see wildlife on a Sunday.
Chimelong, in Panyu District south of central Guangzhou, is a resort complex of five parks that opened with the safari in 1997 and has expanded since. It is one of the biggest family destinations in southern China, and if you are traveling with children through Guangzhou, it will probably be the highlight of the trip. This guide covers each park, what they cost, how they connect, and where the complex is worth your money and where it is not. For more on the city itself, our Guangzhou citywalk guide covers the old town and the food streets.
Chimelong Safari Park: the main event
The safari park is the anchor, and it deserves a full day of six to eight hours. It opened in 1997 and was the first large-scale drive-through wildlife park in China, with over 20,000 animals across hundreds of species. The layout splits into a drive-through zone, which you can experience by car, by the park’s open train, or by cable car, and a walk-through zone where the animals are in enclosures along paths.
The cable car is the part that makes the park unique. Three loops let you ride above the grounds, and on a hot day the breeze alone justifies the ticket. The train is included and takes a ring through the predator and herbivore sections where you can get close enough to a white rhino to see the mud dried on its knees. Chimelong has one of the world’s larger breeding colonies of white tigers, a genetic oddity that started as a captive lineage in the 1950s and that this park displays better than anyone.
Then there are the pandas. Chimelong holds one of the largest giant panda populations outside Sichuan breeding centers, and its most famous residents are the panda triplets born in July 2014 to a mother named Juxiao, the only panda triplets in the world to all survive into adulthood. They live in a dedicated panda center near the walk-through zone, and on a weekday morning you can watch them being fed bamboo with almost no crowd. If pandas are the main reason for your visit, our guide to the Chengdu panda base compares the Sichuan experience with this one, and my honest view is that Chimelong is the easier visit for families while Chengdu is the better one for panda obsessives.
The koala house is the other stop I make every time. Chimelong brought the first koalas to China decades ago and maintains one of the largest colonies outside Australia. They sleep most of the day, which for kids is a feature rather than a bug, because the animals are easy to see.
Chimelong Paradise: the roller coasters
Adjacent to the safari park, Chimelong Paradise is a conventional theme park with a coasters problem in the best sense: it has some of the most intense rides in China. The 10-inversion coaster, a steel monster that turns you upside down ten times, is the flagship, and there is a launched coaster, a motorbike coaster, and a family-friendly section with gentler rides for smaller children.
The park is smaller than Universal Beijing or Shanghai Disneyland, and the theming is thinner, but if your group includes teenagers, this is the best thrill-ride line-up in the south of China. A day here runs five to seven hours. I recommend it as a second-day option rather than combining it with the safari, because both parks punish anyone who tries to do them in one day.
Water park, birds park, and the circus
The water park is seasonal, open roughly from April to October or November, and it is one of the largest in Asia, with wave pools, long tube rides, and a lazy river that the whole family can share. In August the queues are serious, so bring cash for the locker and go on a weekday. Our guide to family travel in China has more on how to plan multi-park days with children.
The birds park, in the converted former crocodile park, is the quiet one: wetland boardwalks, flamingos, and hornbills, good for an hour or two and a nice break from the scale of everything else. The international circus is the surprise hit of the complex. It runs most evenings in a dedicated theater, has a rotating cast of acrobats and animal acts, and the production values are closer to Cirque du Soleil than to a traveling circus. Tickets vary by seat, roughly 200 to 350 RMB, and it is the one thing here I would recommend to adults without children.
Tickets and getting there
Metro Line 3 terminates at Hanxi Changlong station, with exits that feed directly into the resort area, and the ride from central Guangzhou takes 30 to 40 minutes for about 7 RMB. Free shuttle buses loop between the parks and the three resort hotels once you are in the complex. Taxis from the city center run 60 to 100 RMB.
Prices as of 2026, which you should confirm on the official site or app before booking, since Chimelong runs aggressive online discounts:
| Park | Approximate adult price | Time needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safari Park | 250 to 300 RMB | 6 to 8 hours | Cable car included; the main event |
| Chimelong Paradise | 200 to 250 RMB | 5 to 7 hours | Best coasters in southern China |
| Water Park | 180 to 250 RMB | Half day | Seasonal, April to autumn |
| Birds Park | 100 to 150 RMB | 1 to 2 hours | Quiet, good for a break |
| International Circus | 200 to 350 RMB | 2 hours | Evening; worth it for adults |
Two-day combo tickets covering the safari park and one other park save money if you are staying two nights, and the resort hotels offer packages with park entry and shuttle access. The hotels themselves, the Chimelong Hotel and the Chimelong Panda Hotel, are expensive for what they are, but the early entry and the location next to the metro make them practical with young children.
When to go
October through March is the comfortable season in Guangzhou, with daytime temperatures in the high teens to mid-20s Celsius. Summer is hot, humid, and crowded, and the water park is at its busiest exactly when the safari park is most miserable. Chinese school holidays, especially the first week of October and the week around May Day, fill the parks, so book tickets ahead and go on weekdays if your schedule allows.
The complex closes the water park in winter, and some outdoor shows pause in bad weather. Check the official app on the morning of your visit, because schedules shift more here than at the Disney or Universal parks.
An honest assessment
If you have children under twelve, Chimelong is one of the best-value family destinations in China, and the safari park’s cable car and panda center will be the thing they talk about for a year. If you are a couple without kids, I would spend one day here at most, and I would make it the circus plus the safari park rather than the coasters.
The complex has its problems. The food is overpriced, the walking distances are long, and the souvenir shops push hard. But the animal care is visibly good, the scale is impressive, and the whole operation runs with an efficiency that I did not expect for something this large. For the rest of Guangzhou, the Canton Tower is the obvious counterpoint an hour away by metro, and if you want a city day instead, our Guangzhou dim sum trail and the Chen Clan Academy are both central, cheap, and excellent.
Quick facts
- Chimelong Safari Park opened in 1997 in Panyu District, south of central Guangzhou
- Five attractions: safari park, theme park, seasonal water park, birds park, and the international circus
- Over 20,000 animals, including one of the largest giant panda colonies outside Sichuan
- The 2014 panda triplets, the only surviving set in the world, are the park’s most famous residents
- The safari park’s cable car system is unique among Chinese wildlife parks
- Metro Line 3 to Hanxi Changlong, 30 to 40 minutes from the city center
- Best season is October to March; the water park closes in winter
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need at Chimelong?
Two. One full day for the safari park and one for either the theme park or the water park, depending on the season. Trying to combine the safari park with anything else in a single day ends with tired children and a rushed visit.
Is one Chimelong park ticket enough for a day?
Yes, each park is separately ticketed and each fills a day on its own, except the birds park, which takes an hour or two and pairs well with the circus.
Are the pandas as good as the ones in Chengdu?
The animals are the same species and well cared for, but the experience differs. Chengdu has more pandas in a research setting, while Chimelong has fewer in a park setting that is easier to navigate with children. Both are worth seeing; Chengdu is for panda enthusiasts, Chimelong is for families.
Can I do Chimelong as a day trip from Hong Kong?
Yes. High-speed rail from Hong Kong West Kowloon to Guangzhou South takes about an hour, then Line 2 across to Line 3 and out to Hanxi Changlong. It is a long day, and I would only recommend it if you skip the second park and go straight to the safari.
Is the circus worth the ticket?
For adults, it is the best show in the complex and better than most theme park stunt shows. For families, it is an easy evening that does not require a second park ticket. Book seats in the middle sections rather than the cheapest tier.
What about food inside the parks?
Expect park prices, about 60 to 100 RMB per person per meal, and average quality. Most visitors bring snacks, which is allowed, and eat one meal inside. The resort hotels have better restaurants if you are staying overnight.
If you want help fitting Chimelong into a longer southern China trip, we can help you plan a custom food-and-travel route through the contact page. The complex pairs naturally with a city day in Guangzhou, and two nights in Panyu lets you cover the safari park and the circus without rushing either one.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
