People who are used to dealing with plants. He studied gardening at university and planted trees in Qixia Mountain for seven years after graduation. Qixia Mountain was very desolate at first, and the soil was poor. They wanted to plant colorful-leaf trees such as maple and Acer palmatum. They raised seedlings under the mountain. After the seeds germinated and grew into finger-thick seedlings, he and his colleagues carried a tree on the mountain. One tree was planted and there was no concrete road at that time. He was climbing the mountain with a shovel, and when he traversed trees and bushes, some of his colleagues’ feet would be punctured.

This experience has shaped Shen Zhijun’s view of life to a large extent. When working on the mountain, he tried not to cut down trees as much as possible. Colleagues occasionally caught some pig badgers, dog badgers and little hedgehogs. They wanted to bring them back to the cafeteria to improve their food. He said, let them go. When building a fire escape, he encountered a brood of pheasants, and he quietly walked around with his colleagues without disturbing them.

Seeing the animals in the cage, Shen Zhijun instinctively wanted to do something to make them live better, “It is a fresh life, and we should treat it kindly. This was the simplest and most simple thing in my heart at the time. The basic idea is not hypocritical, or you should be responsible for it.”

Shen Zhijun was very enthusiastic at that time. Su Yuan remembered that the first time he saw Shen Zhijun was more than ten years ago. Shen Zhijun came to Beijing to participate in the training of the head of the country. Su Yuan was one of the lecturers. His impression of Shen Zhijun was that he was young and enthusiastic. He was the main leader at a very young age, and he could not hide his vigor.

Su Yuan was already a well-known zoo venue designer in China at that time, and he has a lot of weight in the industry. During the training, Shen Zhijun asked Su Yuan many questions about venue design. Su Yuan could feel that he was eager to do something. There is a small detail that can support this urgency: Shen Zhijun’s shaking hands with him is very strong, “it’s a little bit past.”

But Su Yuan did not hold on to expectations. Before Shen Zhijun took over, Su Yuan had been to Hongshan several times. It was a disappointing zoo from any angle. At that time, the Hongshan Park had three mountains, Dahongshan, Xiaohongshan and Fangniu Mountain. This is a topographical advantage that other parks do not have. It could have been built on the mountain to provide animals with some more natural living environment, but they still I am used to digging a hillside into a flat field, with a clear view? “The other party told him: “No, after training, the elephant trusts us very much.” “

At the time in Hongshan, the most convinced of all the breeders was a tiger-raising master, only he could call tigers from one cage to another. Shen Zhijun observed and found that the most common method used by the master was to yell loudly. The tiger would obey orders when he heard the roar.

What impressed Shen Zhijun most was what he heard from the EEP(European Endangered Species Program) under the European Zoo and Aquarium Association The story of the Przewalski’s horse. It is the only horse species that survives in the wild in the world. Its habitat is located at the junction of Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia in China, and its number is endangered.

The staff of EEP tried to artificially propagate a batch and release them to the grasslands of Xinjiang. However, all the people released in the first year died. The staff were very distressed. They found that most wild horses starved to death. In winter, the grassland is covered with ice and snow. Wild Przewalski’s horses can use their hooves to cut through the ice and snow to eat grass roots. Artificially bred wild horses have long lost this ability. Since then, the staff of EEP carried out targeted training for wild horses. Each time they were fed, a layer of ice was covered on the forage, allowing the wild horses to continuously practice the ability to shave ice with their hoofs. Only after this level can they be released. After several years of training, EEP once again Attempts to release them, it is gratifying that these precious wild horses have survived on the vast grasslands.

At that moment, Shen Zhijun suddenly realized that the zoo at the highest level should be like EEP. Respect and protect the nature of animals, do a good job in species protection, and if needed in the future, it is the ultimate value of the zoo to be able to feed back to the wild.

Many years later, Shen Zhijun still remembers this story clearly. But at that time, there were two voices in China. One voice is very utilitarian, thinking that the zoo is for making money. Another voice stands on the moral high ground, believing that the zoo itself has the original sin and satisfies the human enjoyment by depriving animals of their freedom.

But Shen Zhijun wants a different zoo.

He devoted all his energy to this matter. First, the animal performance was cancelled. The opportunity was that in 2011, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued Document No. 172, requiring protection of animal welfare. But for many zoos in China, animal performances are an important way to generate income, and everyone chooses to wait and see.

Shen Zhijun was the first to promote this. At that time, some people in Hongshan’s team raised objections, believing that this would put the zoo into operating difficulties. Li Meirong recalled that during that time, many meetings were held in the garden again and again. There was “a lot of resistance”, but no matter what objections were raised by others,Shen Zhijun’s attitude is clear: “Our zoo should guide the public, not simply cater to it.”

Half a year after the cancellation of the animal show, there has indeed been a drop in passenger flow. Many travel agencies that led the group disappeared when they heard the show, “What’s the point of that.”

In order to increase income, Shen Zhijun thought of many ways. After the parking lot contract expired, Shen Zhijun reorganized the bidding. The new tenant won the bid with a price of 760,000. After the old tenant failed the bid, they made trouble at the bidding site. The other party threatened Shen Zhijun with harsh words: “You wait, your child is in XX School is in class, your family lives in the XX community, I go to your house to eat.”

The day before taking over the parking lot, Shen Zhijun made people continue to negotiate with the old tenants while preparing for the worst. He informed the new tenants: “You are ready to fight tomorrow.” He is a meticulous person and works. He was thoughtful. First he vaccinated his leader in charge and said: “We may have a fight tomorrow.” The leader was shocked and said that you had better tell the police station. The police station was helpless after hearing the story. He installed a monitor.

Shen Zhijun remembered that the negotiations that day went on for a long time, until 11 o’clock in the evening. He and another leader in charge of the garden sat in the conference room on the fourth floor and waited, and they remained silent. Until eleven, someone came up and said: “The talk is done, the other party is willing to withdraw.” Shen Zhijun breathed a long sigh of relief.


“It may be lonely”

Shen Zhijun doesn’t think much about the “front” issue. Bai Yali said that most of the employees’ computers and office facilities in the park have been used for more than ten years. There is only one large conference room in the entire zoo. The chairs inside are messy, sponge and wood. They are all very old. Once, everyone suggested to Shen Zhijun: “The conference room is our facade, so tidy up and buy a uniform set of chairs. Right?” Shen Zhijun answered without hesitation: “Where do you put the old one? It’s not necessary yet.”