By Hanlong Chen | Project Manager
As autumn deepens in Shanghai, a unique wildlife conservation public welfare event unfolded at the Shanghai Zoo on October 19, 2025. To celebrate the 2025 International Gibbon Day, Shanghai Roots & Shoots and Shanghai Zoo once again joined hands to host the "Making toys for Gibbons" series educational events. Centered around the theme "Forest Gourmet," the event attracted 93 student from 15 schools, all contributing to raise awareness about gibbon conservation.
This year's event specifically focused on the area of food-based enrichment, reflecting the natural behavior of gibbons as "gourmets" in the wild—they not only have a broad diet but also plan their daily foraging routes and precisely select ripe fruits from trees. The participating student teams, after a month of preparation, created 22 creative and innovative enrichment toys based on these characteristics, demonstrating young students' deep understanding of the species and their actions in nature conservation.
The main event was set up on the large lawn in front of the Shanghai Zoo's Education Hall. The Shanghai Roots & Shoots booth attracted a large number of visitors by showcasing the achievements of the Cao Vit Gibbon Habitat Restoration Project in Guangxi. The interactive game area was particularly popular, with activities ranging from gibbon origami and Zhuang tranditional ball-tossing games to arm-span comparisons. These diverse activities received approximately 1,500 members of the public to enjoy, help to deepen their understanding of gibbons through fun interactions.
A highlight of the event was the keynote speech of Professor Shi Ye from Shanghai Normal University, who delivered a lecture titled 'Gibbon's Journey West'. Starting from her translation of "The Gibbon in China," Professor Shi systematically outlined the images and traces of gibbons in ancient Chinese culture and re-examined ancient perceptions from a modern scientific perspective. She expressed a heartfelt wish that "gibbons will not disappear from Chinese culture," infusing gibbon conservation with profound humanistic significance.
After a combined evaluation by an expert committee based on five dimensions—creativity, educational value, fun, safety, and maintainability—the International Division of Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy won the first prize for their gibbon enrichment feeder facility. The Shanghai YK Pao Experimental School and Hangzhou Xiaoshan District Huili School jointly received the second prize for their outstanding designs. Meanwhile, Shanghai Meilong Middle School, Qibao Mingqiang Elementary School East Campus, and Shanghai United International School were awarded the third prize for their unique creations.
The event not only provided gibbons at zoo with a richer living experience but also successfully established a platform for public involvement in biodiversity conservation, showcasing the significant role of cross-sector collaboration in wildlife conservation. The award-winning teams' works will be put into trial use in the gibbon exhibit area at Shanghai Zoo, allowing the creativity of young people to truly benefit these precious forest spirits.
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