Have you ever wanted to see a 150-kilogram black bear leap up on a fence, stand above you and take a piece of carrot from your hand, or watch wild ducks display their underwater skills in a feeding frenzy?

If you're an animal lover looking for fun and thrills, then a venture tour at the Beijing Wildlife Park is just the thing. The park offers tour participants a bounty of rare and close-up experiences with amazing animals in a jam-packed 2-hour mini-safari.

The tour is the most hands-on wildlife experience available in Beijing. Unlike in zoos, most of the animals are kept in semi-liberty, as the park provides well-managed outdoor recreation with beautiful scenery and easy-to-observe wildlife.

Located at Yufa Township in Daxing District to the south of the city, Beijing Wildlife Park is about 35 miles from the city center by the side of the newly built Jin-Kai (Beijing-Kaifeng) Highway. It is the largest wildlife theme park in the Beijing area.

It is not far from the entrance to where you see the animal show including performances by elephants, golden monkeys, and various birds. You can also feed golden monkeys in the monkey hall near the park's main entrance. They are very cooperative.

There are also halls housing Siberian tigers, pumas, panthers and lions. Here you can see the true size of the tigers, as they stand tall against the glass walls of the enclosure.

The highlight of a trip here is the 30-minute bus ride to see the more exotic and even dangerous animals, including lions, wolves, African hunting dogs, tigers, bears, baboons, wild boars and zebras.

At the end of the trip, it takes 5 minutes to walk to the bird enclosure, where you can take pictures with colorful parrots or marvel at how smart they are to take the big notes from your hand instead of the small ones. You will also be able to see many rare birds on display. Next to the birds are the kangaroos and Chinese Monal pheasants.

It is a pity that you cannot see pandas in the park, but staff there revealed that a panda garden will be open soon when you might even have the chance to hold a baby one.

Morning visits to the park, when most of the animals are eager to show off, are recommended. The park is ideal for families and old people, as with its out-of-town location, the usual crowds are largely absent. While there, why not drop in at some of the villages nearby to sample the simple life of the local farmers?

Address: Yufa Village, Daxing District;

Entry ticket: 80 yuan (US$9.60) for an adult, 50 yuan (US$6) for students and free for kids below 120 centimeters;

Traffic: Drive along Jing-Kai Highway and get off at Yufa Exit and then follow the signs;

Tel: 86-10-96285360 (Chinese only).

(China Daily April 14, 2006)