Shanghai has an assortment of pet cafe/stores, from dog cafes to cat cafes to even raccoon cafes. What Shanghai only has one of, however, is a an animal petting cafe with over ten species present, from cats to mice to frogs to even alpacas! This store is located in the Yangpu District of Shanghai, and the employee was kind enough to allow me to collect samples of as many species as I wanted to observe under my Foldscope. Some highlights of the samples collected are shown below, along with a sample of my hair for comparison:


This is the Chinese name of the store/cafe. It translates to "Mo Xi Hua Yuan" in Chinese pinyin.

The front view of the cafe has two alpacas peering from the window.


I am holding a corn snake.

There are two guinea pigs and one rabbit.

This is an American shorthair cat.

Sample 1- Human


Above is a sample of my hair under the microscope. The hair sample is looks smooth, refined, and is the color is clear to see, as my hair is also a golden brown shade. 

Sample 2- Alpaca

The alpaca is a mammal that is a member of the camel family. Above is the sample of alpaca fur, more commonly known as alpaca fleece or wool. The alpaca fur feels coarse and silky. Alpaca fleece is typically used to make many sorts of clothing, including sweaters, socks, bedding, and others. Under the Foldscope, I was surprised at how different the Alpaca fur looked compared to its outer image. The alpaca fur looks rigid, crystallized, shiny, and is translucent compared to the actual alpaca that has white fleece. 

Sample 3- Angora rabbit

The Angora rabbit is a rabbit species that is known for its long fibers of coat that require excessive grooming and care. The Angora's fur is mainly one of the most commonly used breeds for wool production. The Angora rabbit's fur feels soft and silky, but what I see under the Foldscope is truly striking to witness. Under the Foldscope, you could see what appears to be a translucent pattern and structure that makes up the fur, with a patterns of squares lined up by each other. This pattern is often related to the arrangement of scales on the cuticle of the hair shaft. The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair, and it consists of overlapping scales that can give the surface of the hair a distinct pattern when viewed under magnification. It is a direct contrast to the big gray bundles of fur that require consistent brushing for the Angora rabbit to look spectacular.

For all the samples, I mounted all of the samples using a clear cover sticker on traditional glass slides, under 140 X magnification.