Category Archives: Theme Parks

13 Amazing Indian Circus Posters

Shravanabelagola, India We were in this tiny village to see a 57-foot naked man, towering over everything, but he wasn't the only thing to catch my eye. Wheat-pasted to every surface -- crumbling walls and old wooden shop doors -- amazing Jumbo Circus posters! Now I'm not a huge circus fan. It's not that I have moral ...

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment

Chinese Freak Shows: An Age-Old New Years Tradition

Two-headed ladies! Ladies with tails! Big-headed ladies and snake-eating ladies and elephants, too! All this, for only 75 cents! Every year, for Chinese New Year, these tents appear across the country. This one was in rural Shanxi Province. Outside, an old lady counted her renminbi in the cold. ...

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Don’t Forget Your Cute Tiger Pictures

After the horrors of the tiger park, I neglected to mention the cute photo ops at the end of the tour. I mean, how awesome is this vertical line of tigerocity? After taking the picture, the employee wrenched the doped-out cub from our cuddle. He shoved it in a medium-sized tupperware storage container. He clipped on ...

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Small Children Feeding Live Animals to Tigers in a Chinese Zoo

In northern China there's a tiger park. Like so many things in China, it's nothing like you might expect. To start with, there's a menu at the gate. These aren't animals to take home and domesticate. They're fodder. Victims to be released on your tour. "Let's get a cow," I said. Michelle just ...

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Modern Ruins, Theme Parks

Wonderfully Crumbling Old Cardboard Castle

Just off the beaches of Chennai, covered in crow guano, trash and cow dung, lies the creepily gorgeous ruins of the Snowball amusement park. Paint was peeling off the walls. So was the plaster. Heck, even the walls were peeling off the walls. Nests cluttered the turrets, and empty windows peered into nothingness. I snapped ...

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities, Theme Parks

15 More Pictures from weirdoid Tiger Balm Park

AsiaObscura friend Dawn Xiana Moon (dawnxianamoon.com) sent over a pile more pix from the absolutely incredible statues and terrifying dioramas at Tiger Balm Park aka Har Paw Villa. See our original story here, or click on her pix below for full-sized versions....

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities, Theme Parks

The Creepiest Amusement Park of All Time?

Singapore is bland. It's a high-priced row of shopping malls and fine eateries, with a few hawker markets thrown in. "It's soooooo boring," warned my hairdresser Miss P. But then you stumble on something like this. The Tiger Balm Gardens: The most disturbing theme park of all time. There's sex, violence, bear-maulings and scabies. ...

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 11 Comments

AO Events, Theme Parks

Return to Fake Disneyland? Sweeeeeet!

This past weekend, AO hosted our third BeijingObscura outing: a return to the magnificent Copyright Infringement Park, aka Fake Disneyland! Thanks to everyone who made it--it wouldn't have been the same without you, and your absolute awesomeness!!!

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment

Life in Miniature, Theme Parks

Beyond the Valley of the Dwarfs: The Strangest Theme Park Ever?

"Before coming here, I was tending cattle, and feeding pigs," Xiao Cao told me. "I never even knew how to dance." "And now, she's our leading dancer!" laughed Zhang Furong. Xiao Cao is a dancer. Zhang Furong is a singer. They're both under 4'3" tall. They live in, and perform at, The ...

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Theme Parks

Incredible Low-Tech Laotian Merry-Go-Round

When I was living in Kathmadu 20 years ago (yow!) this summer, I found this awesomely makeshift ferris wheel in a nearby theme park. A teenager would stand in the middle, and walk from one bar to the next, giving passengers a slow, staggered ride. Much more recently in southern Laos, down on the island Don Khon, ...

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism, Theme Parks

Fiendishly Fun Photo Ops at World Park

While we were busy on our own adventures, Chinese tourists flocked to Beijing's glorious World Park of their own accord. Some of them with entire camera crews in tow. Wedding photos, engagement photos, bff shots, they were costumed, posed, and so immaculately arranged. Here's a couple of our favorites! Even those who didn't ...

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Modern Ruins, Theme Parks

Another Abandoned Beijing Amusement Park

What is it with these half-built, then abandoned, Beijing amusement parks? We're old fans of The Romance Park of the Heart, which is filled with Swiss chalets, Siamese pagodas, and packs of wild dogs looking to tear your legs off. But we kept hearing about another one, in the opposite direction... Wonderland! Just ...

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Theme Parks

Tongzhou’s "Kids with Measles" Ride

I don't know if I'd feel too comfortable getting close to these kids.... let alone allow my children to ride their backs...

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Theme Parks

Outsider Art Kangaroos at the Beijing Zoo

I wasn't much impressed with the Beijing zoo. Quite the contrary... I was absolutely horrified. We left depressed. (See this story for a hint of the madness.) But on the upside, while we saw no live kangaroos, we did happen on these lovely grazing sculptures, made from pieces of found wood. It felt more like something ...

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 6 Comments

Beijing’s incredible (and completely fake) Disneyland

I was always sad Beijing didn't have a Disneyland for weekend fun, but it turns out we do. Well, a fake one. Not far from the center of town, at the Bajiao stop on subway Line 1, is the incredible Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park (北京石景山游乐园). Admission was about US$1.50, and what a ...

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Modern Ruins, Theme Parks

The Romance Park of the Heart – an abandoned Beijing theme park

Beijing's filled with hidden secrets. Behind all those highrise tower blocks and overpasses, there is awesomeness to be found. And so it was that we heard rumors of a decrepit half-built theme park, somewhere way out west. The rumors came from a Chinese film student, who'd heard them from a friend, who'd ...

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

AO Events, Copyright Carelessness, Theme Parks

Sat July 30: Join us at Copyright Infringement Park (aka Disneyland Beijing!)

There's no reason to travel all the way to Hong Kong, when Beijing has it's own Disneyland right here! Sure, it's fake, and weird, and... crumbling, but it couldn't be more fun! Discover the unlicensed (and probably unsafe) Shrek, Indiana Jones, and Batman rides, all surrounding a dusty Epcot Center. Admire the ...

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

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