Comments on: What the heckaroni is this thing?

Question: What the heckaroni is this thing?

josher71 — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 21:33:40 -0800

China Filter: Ok, on the way to see the Great Wall at Badaling I was in a car with a woman who spoke very little English. We passed by this deserted amusement park looking castle thing. There was part of it that looked to still be under construction but the whole thing looked as though it was mostly forgotten about. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and, if so, what the heck it is?

By: mdonley

mdonley — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 22:46:25 -0800

Dude!

I totally saw the same thing in March of 2001 on the road between Beijing and Badaling. It certainly DID look like a giant abandoned amusement park castle, but either a few kilometers before or after it, I saw a sign for something called "Rose Estates" or "Rose Castle" or "Rose [something]" - which turned out to be a big housing complex. We guessed that the castle was some sort of ostentatious tie-in with the housing complex, perhaps evocative of some type of idealized fairy-tale existence one would find once in the complex? Nothing for sure though.

We also saw a 10-meter-high orange-y pomegranate on the road between Xian and the Terracotta Soldiers site, but that's neither here nor there.

By: jimdanger

jimdanger — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 05:03:49 -0800

It wasn't by chance The World Landscape Park, was it?

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 07:41:06 -0800

jimdanger, that was cool. Has that been posted in the blue?

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 10:45:19 -0800

I agree. That should be on the front page. What an outrageous place!

By: lain

lain — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 11:42:33 -0800

I saw the same thing and wondered what it was. Seems like they planned some sort of theme park, then their funding was cut, and they didn't have enough money to clean it up. I don't know what it is, but it's nice to hear someone else saw it and wondered what it was.

By: gemmy

gemmy — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 11:48:25 -0800

The World Landscape Park is located west of Chengdu, in Sichuan, not near Beijing. It's still very cool, though!

I also saw this on the way to Badaling. I asked my teachers and friends what it was, and was told that it had been abandoned because not enough people could get to it from the city. I don't have a name for it, sorry.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 17:57:52 -0800

Is it this castle?

By: josher71

josher71 — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 20:23:36 -0800

Yes, Tellurian, that is indeed it.

It's crazy because it looks totally abandoned. There is another tower that was under construction and it does just look like it was left to rot. Perfect place for a Scooby Doo episode.

By: cass

cass — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:34:30 -0800

I just saw on the CBS Evening News last week that some housing developments in China are themed.