China’s Post-Apocalyptic Theme Park

There is a story getting a lot of buzz today about China’s abandoned, unfinished theme park.

The theme park—which covers 100 acres and is a mere 45 minute drive from Beijing—was supposed to be a Disneyland knockoff called “Wonderland” and it was billed by the developers as “the largest amusement park in Asia.”

Unfortunately, there were some—ahem—“slight disagreements” over property prices between the local government and farmers.

As a result, the developers packed up took off. Construction stopped in 1998 leaving behind the skeletal remains of an amusement park that never came to fruition.

Most websites are using this story to focus on the multitude of troubles with the Chinese property market:

All these structures of rusting steel and decaying cement, are another sad example of property development in China involving wasted money, wasted resources and the uprooting of farmers and their families.

It is a reflection of the country’s property market which many analysts say the government must keep tightening steps in place. The worry is a massive increase in inflation and a speculative bubble that might burst, considering that property sales contribute to around 10 percent of China’s growth.

Since I don’t really give a rat’s ass about the property market 12,000 miles away, I’ve decided to focus on the awesome photographs taken by David Gray of Reuters.

Here they are in all of their post-apocalyptic glory:

If that was just enough to whet your appetite for more decaying amusement parks, be sure to peep this slideshow of Eight Abandoned Amusement Parks.

If you’re in the mood to mix things up a little, try abandoned theatres and/or abandoned swimming pools on for size.

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