Panda-monium as Chiang Mai Zoo sets new visitor record
Chiang Mai Zoo recorded its highest number of visitors in 10 years on Friday as about 7,000 people flowed through its gates.
The zoo also collected over 1 million baht in admission fees – despite 3,000 of those visitors entering free of charge, its chief Wuthichai Muangman said.
Thai zoos across the country have made entry for children free during the current four-day public holiday for His Majesty the King’s birthday on Thursday.
The most popular attractions at Chiang Mai Zoo are the aquarium and panda enclosure, which are seeing between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors per day.
The zoo’s car park was crammed with as many as 1,400 vehicles on Friday.
Chiang Mai Zoo is famously home to the giant panda Lin Hui, which is on loan from the Chinese government.
The 20-year-old female panda has been alone at the zoo since her mate Xuang Xuang died of a heart problem in his enclosure at the age of 19 in 2019.
The pair arrived at the zoo in October 2003. Five years later, Lin Hui gave birth to Lin Ping, their first baby, through artificial insemination. The baby panda was shipped to China in 2013.
