Sanlitun Cafés Cash in on Our Desire to Pet Animals

Original Joey Knotts theBeijinger

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First, cat cafés infested every corner of the city, capitalizing on our obsessions of both caffeine and cuteness. But we humans are fickle, and soon enough, felines weren’t enough to satisfy our appetites for adorability. Next up were shiba inus, imported in regular and miniature form from Japan to fill yet more cafés, but then even these pups, universally acknowledged as being very good dogges, could not satisfy our unending desire to touch nice animals.

In Sanlitun Soho, things have really stepped up a notch, with the recent opening of two new shops designed to tickle our cuteness sensors.

Of course, where you stand on partaking in this growing trend will depend on how you feel about these animals being taken out of their natural habitat and the stress likely incurred by them being endlessly touched. With that said, upon our visit, the animals in the two venues below appeared happy and the conditions sanitary.

A bombardment of cuddliness

The first, Takara, is situated on the ground floor of Sanlitun Soho and houses a surprising variety of cuddly creatures: shiba puppies, guinea pigs, chinchillas, wide-eyed schnauzers, and other small unidentified fluffy animals each call this shop their home.

As if that wasn't enough, amidst all the dogs playing in the open area (away from the cages of the smaller, more edible fluffy animals), a capybara pup was casually waddling over on its little webbed feet, nosing at the shibas. The way they interact, you almost forget that the capybara is a rodent (the world’s largest – it won’t be this small much longer!) until you pick it up and stroke its unfamiliar, coarse fur.

Capybaras love to eat grass, apparently

One animal that guests are not allowed to pick up is the raccoon, although you are allowed to pet it when it comes out to play with the other animals. To feed it, you must push its food through a tube in a glass wall. It is quite fond of apples.

RMB 88 for 45 minutes; coffee and tea included with entry.

Takara
Room 136, Bldg 6, Sanlitun Soho, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯SOHO五号商场1层136

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The Oinkers Upstairs

"Snort snort" is pig for "please hold me and cuddle me"

In the very same building, Hands-on Pigs is like something out of Animal Farm, as the pigs have a room to themselves, and moreover, it is more exclusive: unlike Takara, guests to this piggy haven are expected to book in advance (one day ahead for weekdays, three to four for weekends).

Run, little piggy, run!

For your efforts, you are permitted to enter the pigpen, where cuddling with tiny piggies is highly encouraged. Some of the porkers get around in their naked, spotted birthday suits, while others are clothed in little dresses and sweaters. If that wasn’t picture-perfect enough, the whole pen is set up like a studio so you can snap endless Moments-ready shots.