Some 30 penguins at the Shanghai Zoo were moved yesterday from crowded cages into a habitat that's designed to make them feel more at home.

The new viewing area for the birds has been decorated with man-made stones and blue water and resembles the penguins' polar breeding grounds, said zoo director Xiong Chengpei.

Air conditioners and dozens of spraying devices positioned around the penguin area keep the air as moist and frosty as possible.

Xiong said the zoo will maintain outdoor temperatures in the penguins' home at around 26 degrees Celsius in the summer, although the birds are at their best in the zero to 18 degree zone.

"Since all these penguins were born at the zoo, they are better able to endure the city's summer heat compared with those in wild," he said.

Other animals also were moved into new habitats yesterday, including nine monkeys, five white-headed langurs and three ostriches. Under a program designed to upgrade most of the zoo's cages by 2010, yesterday's new homes were adorned with iron trees, nesting ropes, shrubs, flowers and tiny waterfalls splashing over huge stones.

"The new houses provide bigger living and playing spaces for the animals," Xiong said. "We've also hung some apples and leaves on the trees. Getting the animals to do more physical exercise is good for them."

(Shanghai Daily April 14, 2005)