Zoos in China tend to be quite different from those in the US. Animals often live in smaller spaces with no place to hide. Up north in Harbin, there’s a Tiger Park. It looks, feels, and functions more like a tiger prison—with a central guard tower and different sectors separated by tall chain-link fences and barbed wire. When you purchase your ticket, you can also purchase a range of meat items including whole, living animals to feed to the tigers.

If, for example, you purchase a live chicken, when the small bus you are riding in pulls into the initial clearing leading up to the main complex, you will spot a generous handful of tigers lounging comfortably in the subzero temperature outside. After a few minutes, the SUV pictured above comes zipping out of the prison area, the driver pops open the door and plops a confused live chicken onto the roof. Not long before this picture was taken—the driver informed me—one of the other drivers had been severely mauled when he opened the door to feed the tigers.

With the live chicken disappearing so abruptly, the bus makes a few more circles while the driver does her best to encourage you to buy another animal to feed the hungry tigers. The bus ahead of you, already in the prison complex, has purchased an entire cow, which you cannot see because it is covered in tigers.

Any friends that had any animal rights reservations entering the park, are now busily pooling cash together to purchase a flying pheasant. Which, when delivered, sends the tiger on a graceful jog before leaping into the air and snatching the bird out of the air. As you leave the park, the workers thank you for supporting the animals, the citizens, and the city of Harbin.

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