Cambridge Scholar Finds New Zoo History

Yutong Li arrived at UC San Diego Library with a specific question about animals in China.

Li is a third-year doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the social and cultural history of zoological gardens in China from the 1950s to the 1970s, with a primary focus on the Beijing Zoo. She spent four weeks in San Diego this summer to explore the East Asia Collection, a visit funded by the WongAvery Visiting Scholar Exchange Program. The program is supported by the Avery-Tsui Foundation and connects Cambridge University Library with UC San Diego Library.

The East Asia Collection holds more than 200,000 print volumes and 1.2 million digital titles. It also contains 19,000 visual images and 3,000 films. Li noted that her home institution at Cambridge has strong holdings on premodern and dynastic China. UC San Diego holds more strength in modern and contemporary materials, which suited her study of socialist China. She accessed the China Local Gazetteers Database and Digital Libraries’ China Pictorial to search for sources efficiently.

A key part of her visit involved consulting the Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars Friendship Delegations archive. This collection includes photographs, diaries, and publications from members who visited China in the 1970s. Li looked for references to zoos and animals in these materials to understand how foreign visitors encountered Chinese wildlife. She found these documents especially valuable for her project on cross-cultural perceptions of Chinese zoos.

Unexpected discoveries emerged from the library's collection of Red Guard publications. Li found several articles and items on urban park management during the Cultural Revolution. One item directly criticized the practices of the Guangzhou Zoo. These materials showed how park-building and park-going featured in radical discourses. Li stated that these findings opened a new direction for her research, particularly if she pursues further oral history work.

Li also visited the San Diego Zoo to see if its archives contained relevant materials. She enjoyed seeing the elephants at the zoo. Her time in San Diego included visits to La Jolla Cove to observe sea lions and seabirds. She also walked along the cliffs near the Gliderport to watch sunsets. Li expressed appreciation for the modernist and brutalist architecture on campus, citing the Geisel Library and the Applied Physics and Mathematics Building as notable structures.

The exchange program allows researchers to strengthen connections between academic institutions. Earlier this year, UC San Diego scholar Ian Dubrowsky visited Cambridge to study global networks that shaped Chinese industry during the Mao era. Li plans to share her findings about UC San Diego’s collections with researchers at Cambridge. She intends to incorporate the new sources into her doctoral work and present insights to the academic community there.

Li credited the Avery-Tsui Foundation for enabling her to spend part of her doctoral studies in the United States. She valued the opportunity to speak with librarians, academics, and students at UC San Diego. The experience provided access to perspectives and sources she would not otherwise have encountered. Li will return to Cambridge with new research materials and established professional connections.