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Since 2009, a small army of _________ in the Palace Museum have been receiving global social media attention. These hairy guards are _________ inside the museum walls. The purpose is to defend wooden structures and _________ relics against mice.

I visited the Palace Museum in the summer of 2023 to _________ the history of Qing Dynasty. I stayed in a small hotel in one of Beijin’s hutong areas for a whole month. It took me a 20-minute walk to the _________ every morning. Before _________ to Beijing, I had already conducted some background research on the history of the Palace Museum itself and managed to read an article about the famous palace cats. I was _________ to spot at least one of them during my stay there.

In the third week, _________ I was walking through the western gates, I was surprised to spot not one, not two, but three cats on the corner of a porch in front of an office. I _________ the furry guards in Chinese, “Hi! Kitties!” The cats ignored me, __________ to take a rest in the shade next to their white painted cat houses.

I __________ three more cats inside the bamboo garden of the employees’ exercise grounds. It wasn’t until my last week in Beijing that I __________ got to pet one. The slightly fat furry cat looked like the real “boss” of the palace as he made his way over to me, staring with his sharp yellow and blue eyes and letting __________ short, loud meows demanding attention. He was very friendly and __________ to be scratched behind the ear and even given a belly rub.

For those cat __________ planning on taking a trip to China’s capital, these absolutely adorable security guards are definitely worth spending a day in the palace looking for.

Hotels Where Wild Animals Wander Free

Check in to one of these hotels where wild animals wander free, and you could be sharing your breakfast table with giraffes, relaxing poolside with elephants, or viewing out from your hotel room window penguins.

Located within the Madikwe Game Reserve, the Makanyane Safari Lodge offers guests up close views of the surrounding bush and the wildlife that resides within it. The suites have floor- to-ceiling glass windows perfect for watching passing elephants, and the main lodge is conveniently located next to a water hole visited by a variety of wildlife.

A stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort in Orlando will feel more like a visit to Africa than Florida. Take a walk around the grounds, and you’re likely to spot more than 30 species of African wildlife. The lodge is home to 200 resident animals and birds, including gazelles, flamingos, zebras, and giraffes.

This hotel outside of Nairobi lets you get up close and personal with Rothschild giraffes. The original place was built in 1932 and has served as a giraffe shelter since the 1970s. Today, Giraffe Manor has six bedrooms and offers guests the chance to share their breakfast table with the eight resident giraffes. All of the hotel’s profits go to support the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife.

Despite the name, it isn’t sea lions you should look out for here: A group of Gentoo penguins has been known to set up camp next to Sea Lion Lodge, a comfortable 3-star hotel in the Falkland Islands. Aside from penguin spotting, the lodge offers expansive views of the South Atlantic Ocean where nothing but water separates you from Antarctica.