Beijing Nine-Dragon Amusement Park lies to the southeast of the Ming Tombs Reservoir in Changping District. It can be reached along the Badaling Expressway from downtown, or by bus. Constructed with Sino-Japan joint investment, and opened in July 1990, it is a large modernized comprehensive amusement park with Disneyland features.
Facing the beautiful Ming Tombs Reservoir, with mountains behind it, the park covers an area of 93,000 square meters, with a water-covered area of 55,000 square meters, including a part abovegroundand the other part underwater. It centers round the cultural concept of “dragon”. Nine-dragon Palace, the principal building, is in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties buildings, with nine sides, nine columns, nine roof ridges, and nine corners; its triple eaves are covered with peacock blue glazed tiles framed by yellow tiles, which gleam like gold in the sun.
Underwater Dragon Palace, the theme attraction of the park, lies at the bottom of the reservoir, reaching a maximum depth of 20 meters below surface, with a total length of over 600 meters. It consists of nine main sections, including “diving”, “wonders of the ocean”, “coral forest”, “aquatic animals”, and “the main hall of the palace”. With the latest audio-visual technology, it presents natural scenery of the ocean and scenes from ancient legends about “Dragon King” and “Dragon Palace”. In the “diving” section you may experience the thrills of rotating tunnel. In the “Crystal World” you may see a beautiful coral forest and crystal-like little creatures. In the magnificent hall of the Dragon Palace, the Dragon King of the East Ocean shows his double faces and laughs heartily. All these splendid attractions are controlled by robots.
The aquarium, covering 2,000 square meters, is another major attraction of the park. Its exhibition hall is encircled by 20 huge boxes that hold nearly 300 cubic meters of water in all. They are inhabited by coelenterates, arthropods, fishes, reptiles, and dozens of species of aquatic plants. With its unique content and style, the exhibition appeals to all tourists, particularly the teenagers.
Tetele Science Fiction Hall, featuring a worm-wheel dynamic cinema, is yet another highlight of the park. With all its equipment introduced fron America, it embodies the latest cinematic technology. The seats can move to and fro, up and down, or sideways, simulating motions in movies, such as planes moving up or down, surfing, skiing on high mountains, and dropping into an abyss. This, combined with an ultra-large screen and powerful acoustic effects, makes you feel as if you were inside the movie.
The park also offers F-1 racing cars and rafting on rapid currents in the Toy Town. |
Asia Travel 
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