Cat cafe and dog cafes are adorable. But passé. Introducing Xin Qi Chong, a full-on zoo café in Baoshan with more than 20 types of animals, from alpaca to tarantula.

No doubt keeping animals in captivity is never going to be perfect. But I’m on the side that as long as the owner cares for his animals (he does), trains his staff well (he does) and the staff are paying attention to customer behavior with animal welfare in mind (they do), then I’m ok with it. Where else can you sit and have a soft drink with a real-life caonima (otherwise known as an alpaca) named “Luna” or hold a tiny black-and-white piglet as it chews the string on your hoodie? Spread over three floors, Xin Qi Chong has so many animals it’s basically an ark (well… there’s only one of each), including chinchillas, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, lizards, a hedgehog and a ferret, with more to come as the owner expands. The “entry fee” for the zoo café is 48rmb per person, including a bottled soft drink and a carrot-shaped token in exchange for food (for the animals). You get to interact with two animals for two hours and feed one if it is has not been fed yet. I got lucky. I went on a weekday and the cafe was not packed, so I was able to get close to most of the animals. How close? Let’s say me and the piglet had a few precious moments, like a new mother and child, until its ADHD made me nervous and he ran off. So is this heaven for people who love animals and want to interact with them up close and personal? Or is it hell for animals, stuck in captivity, being used as props to make the owner money? For those in the first camp, it’s a real sanctuary. I met one girl there who comes regularly from Pudong (which is NOT close to Baoshan) to spend time with the animals in the café, and had started to pick up their habits. The argument here is, for the kids who come here (and most guests are kids), the close encounters with animals will teach them to love animals and think of them in more personal terms, and the staff’s behavior and guidance will teach them to be respectful. (The staff there were attentive and always offered help when I was interacting with the animals.) But that’s the best case scenario. On the other side is the camp who would argue that using animals as toys is ultimately a cruel experience for them. If you’re in my camp, but Baoshan is too far, stay tuned: the zoo café is coming to Minhang before summer vacation. Xin Qi Chong, No. 13, Lane 809 Jinqiu Lu, near Qilianshan Lu.