• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Stories
  • Games
    • View All
    • FAQ
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

Abandoned: Wonderland Amusement Park, The “Fake Disneyland” of Beijing, China (Photos)

December 7, 2015 by Lucia

Previously: Williams Grove Amusement Park.

In the Changping District of China, some 20 miles outside of Beijing, the ruins of an abandoned castle once rose out of the desolate landscape. The castle was surrounded by the equally barren remains of a small medieval town — except, of course, neither the castle nor the town were ever real. They were what was left of Wonderland Amusement Park, the “Fake Disneyland” of China that died before it was ever fully alive.

Wonderland Castle in Beijing

Construction on Wonderland began sometime in the ‘90s, when Thai-owned property developer the Reignwood Group announced its plan to build the largest amusement park in Asia. Seated across 120 acres, it would have outstripped Japan’s Tokyo Disneyland by five acres. It’s worth nothing that it might not have been able to hold onto that title; had it ever been finished, it still would have been dwarfed by the 176-acre Tokyo DisneySea, which opened in 2001, and 2005’s Hong Kong Disney, which covers 320 acres. At the time, though, it stood poised to become a top attraction… until the plan went south.

wonderland exterior

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

wonderland town 2

Accounts differ as to exactly what caused the issue. According to some, the trouble was that no one could agree on how much the land on which Wonderland was to stand was worth; others, however, state that the park was largely to be situated on forestry land, and with major floods having changed the policy to protect the lands, the Reignwood Group was required to reevaluate their plans. Either way, though, construction ground to a halt in 1998, with the strife continuing through the early 2000s. There was an attempt to begin construction again in 2008; alas, though, it also failed, leaving the half-built theme park never fully realized.

More of China's abandoned wonderland amusement park. Full load of photos when I get back to London in a few days! pic.twitter.com/NawTuCHk

— Victoria Henry (@victohenry) September 27, 2012

iO9 once described Wonderland as “a post-apocalyptic Magic Kingdom,” which is just about as accurate as it gets. Like Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL, and any other Disney property built on the original Disneyland model, a fantasy castle full of towers and spires was to have been the centerpiece of Wonderland; meanwhile, the overall medieval theme suggests what might happen if the Fantasyland portions of Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom took over the parks completely. Wonderland lacked, however, the key element of any theme park: Rides. Construction never got far enough along to have more than the beginnings of a lonely rollercoaster twisting up through the mist.

It’s hard to miss the symbolism of a dreamland only partially constructed and subsequently falling into disrepair, isn’t it?

wonderland castle bike
wonderland bike

The Bohemian Blog manage to finagle a trip onto the grounds of Wonderland in March of 2013, providing what’s probably the most complete look at the insides of the buildings on the Internet; the photographs are worth a look, at once beautiful and saddening.

This is even more true when you realize that the park itself was demolished shortly after they were taken. In April of 2013, Wonderland’s remains were torn down, leaving nothing more than a few foundations to mark where the folly had once stood. At the time, there were plans to build a shopping center on the site, although those plans appear not to have come to fruition yet.

wonderland inside
wonderland town

And so Wonderland Amusement Park’s conflicted history draws to an end. The last remaining pieces of it have vanished as if they were the whisps of dream — the kind you struggle to hang onto as you wake.  At least someone managed to capture it before it was gone completely, though; the nice thing about dreams is that you can always revisit them if you like.

***

Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!

[Photos: JoeInSouthernCA (1, 2, 3), Tormod Sandtorv (1, 2), JLim02/Flickr; Bertrouf/Wikimedia Commons]

Filed Under: Places Tagged With: Abandoned, abandoned amusement parks, China, Disney, photography, Wonderland Amusement Park

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Top Stories

‘Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark’ Is Now Available From Chronicle Books!

15 Creepy, Scary Phone Numbers To Call That Actually Work (UPDATED For 2023)

The Backrooms, Explained: How To Make Sense Of The Internet’s Favorite Non-Reality

About

The Ghost In My Machine is an internet campfire of sorts. Gather round, because it wants to tell you strange stories, take you on haunted journeys, and make you jump at unexpected noises.

Continue Reading >

Support

Like what you read? Support The Ghost In My Machine!

 

Support

Follow

Facebook Twitter

From the Vault

  • Bloody Mary & Other Games We Shouldn’t Play

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • This Man

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Dionaea House

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Noise Coming From Inside Children

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • NoEnd House

    Is It Real?

  • Killswitch

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The “Lost” Mickey Mouse Cartoon

    Is It Real?

  • 200 Phenomena In The City Of Calgary

    Scare Yourself Silly

View All >

Letters from the Beyond

Enter your email to receive blog posts and updates by email

  • Stories
  • Games
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

Privacy Policy

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT