It is the Year of the Monkey, so anyone who is related to a monkey will be eligible for half-price admission to the Shenzhen Safari Park for the weeklong May Day holiday.

Monkey relatives will come in two categories: those who were born in a monkey year and those whose family names are Hou, which sounds the same as monkey in Chinese.

"If you show your ID card, we'll know your family name and the year you were born," said Huang Xianda, the zoo's public relations chief.

The zoo will stage a grand show performed by both human and animal performers during the weeklong holiday. Zhong Huanqiao, chief of the zoo, said many people blamed animals for last year's SARS outbreak but the real culprit were human beings who exploited natural resources and disregarded the potentially dire consequences.

"So we hope to use the show to inspire people's love for wild animals and the natural environment," Zhong said.

Choreographed by Shu Yong, a noted environmentalist artist in China, the show will tell how human beings and animals have suffered as human society has evolved. It explains how human beings and the environment and animals are interdependent and that human civilization cannot develop at the expense of the other two.

Audience members will be invited to wear animal masks while watching the show and to partially participate in it. "Participation may help invoke sympathy for the animals," Huang explained.

Shenzhen Safari Park

Address: east to the Xili Lake, Xili Township, Nanshan District

Buses: 101, 226, 104 , 434, 442, 361

Editor: Catherine