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Chimelong Ocean Kingdom

(Redirected from Polar Explorer (Chimelong Ocean Kingdom))

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a theme park situated in Hengqin, Zhuhai, People's Republic of China. It was designed by PGAV Destinations. [2] The park broke ground on November 28, 2010[3] and soft-opened on January 28, 2014.[4] The grand opening occurred on March 29 of that year. The first phase of the park cost RMB 10 billion to build.[3] It is part of the Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort, which aims to become the "Orlando of China".[2] In 2023 the park hosted 12.52 million visitors, making it the sixth-most visited theme park in the world and the most visited theme park in the world that is not a Disney or Universal park.[5]

Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
珠海长隆海洋王国
LocationChimelong International Ocean Resort, Fuxiang Bay, Hengqin, Zhuhai, People's Republic of China
Coordinates22°06′00″N 113°31′48″E / 22.1001°N 113.5300°E / 22.1001; 113.5300
Opened29 March 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03-29)
OwnerChimelong Group
Operated byChimelong Group
General managerPaul Yuen
ThemeMarine
Slogan全球领先的海洋主题乐园
World Leading Ocean Theme Park
Operating seasonYear round
Attendance12.52 million (2023)[1]
Area8
Attractions
Total15
Roller coasters3
Water rides2
Websitewww.chimelong.com/zh/oceankingdom/
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
Simplified Chinese珠海长隆海洋王国
Traditional Chinese珠海長隆海洋王國
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhūhǎi Chánglóng Hǎiyáng Wángguó
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingzyu1 hoi2 coeng4 lung4 hoi2 joeng4 wong4 gwok3

Among its attractions are a wide range of amusement rides and animal shows, as well as one of the world's largest oceanariums with a total of 48.75 million litres (12,880,000 US gal; 10,720,000 imp gal) of water. The theme park has achieved five Guinness World Records.[6]

Rides and shows

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Rides

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Name Type Manufacturer Area Opened Image
Parrot Coaster Wing Coaster Bolliger & Mabillard Amazing Amazon 2014  
Polar Explorer Water Coaster Mack Rides Polar Horizon 2014  
Walrus Splash SuperSplash Mack Rides Walrus Mountain 2014  
Penguin Coaster Force Coaster Zierer Hero Island 2018
Jungle Coaster Force Coaster Zierer Hero Island 2018

Shows

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Name Type Venue Area Opened
Dolphin Show Animal show Dolphin Theater Dolphin Cove 2014
Sea Lion Show Animal show Sea Lion Theater Mount Walrus 2014
Beluga Show Animal show Beluga Theater Polar Horizon 2014
Ocean Resistance Nighttime Spectacular Hengqin Ocean Hengqin Ocean 2017
Musical Fountain Spectacular Fountain show Hengqin Ocean Hengqin Ocean 2015

Themed areas

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There are eight themed areas inside the park, each representing a part of the ocean.

Ocean Avenue

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Ocean Avenue
  • The entrance area with shops and an LED digital canopy that showcases the sea

Dolphin Cove

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Amusement rides

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Castle Theatre
  • Battle of the Pirates – spinning tea cups with shooting water jets
  • Dolphin Round Ride – spinner ride
  • 5D Castle Theatre - Opened in 2015. The castle theatre features a 13-minute animated film called "Kaka's Great Adventure". The film is produced by Prana Studios with Kraftwerk Living Technologies (KLT) providing the hardware. The theatre has a 1,500-square-metre (16,000 sq ft) curved screen, a world record. The theatre took more than three years to plan and cost some ¥300 million (US$50 million) to build.[7]

Animal exhibits

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Amazing Amazon

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Amusement rides

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Animal exhibits

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  • Journey to the Amazon – freshwater aquarium

Ocean Beauty

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Amusement rides

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  • Deep Sea Odyssey – submarine ride that goes inside the aquarium

Animal exhibits

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Whale Shark Aquarium
  • Whale Shark Exhibit Aquarium – the tank itself contains 22.7 million litres (6,000,000 US gal; 5,000,000 imp gal) of water, making it the largest in the world,[6] and it is home to whale sharks, manta rays, and many other species at the time of its opening.[8]

Polar Horizon

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Amusement rides

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Animal exhibits

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Beluga Theatre
  • Beluga Experience and Beluga Theatre – beluga habitat
  • Polar bear Village – Polar bear habitat
  • Penguin World – Penguin habitat

Hero Island

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Amusement rides

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  • Bumper Smash – Bumper cars
  • Games Arcade – game stalls
  • Penguin Coaster
  • Jungle Coaster
  • Tower of Sea Monsters

Animal exhibits

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Mount Walrus

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Mount Walrus entrance

Amusement rides

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Animal exhibits

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Hengqin Ocean

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  • Shows, parades, and firework shows

Entertainments

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Journey of Lights - Nighttime parade designed by Miziker Entertainment[9]

Transportation

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The resort has been served by the Zhuhai Changlong railway station on the Zhuhai–Zhuhai Airport intercity railway since 18 August,

Awards and records

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In 2015, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom won the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement over 169 international candidates, marking the first time the award was given to a Chinese theme park.[10]

The ocean park holds the Guinness world record for being the largest aquarium in the world, it also had the largest aquarium window in the world according to the Guinness World Records, a single acrylic panel measuring 39.6 by 8.3 metres (130 by 27 ft).

The Journey of Lights parade won the 2018 Thea Award for outstanding achievement - live show.[11]

Criticism

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Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, said, "Ocean Kingdom seems to have imported everything." They are doing everything wrong. "They are doing everything you don't want them to do".[12] Examples include polar bears confined in small areas demonstrating "repetitive pacing, swaying, head-bobbing or circling"[13] and skin disorders in penguins kept in a sub-tropical environment.

Further criticism arises from a recent trade of orcas between China and Russia.[14] In 2013 Russia captured wild orcas in the Sea of Okhotsk,[15] two of which have been sold to China. "Now, a conservation group monitoring the capture of killer whales says it has discovered that Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits were applied for by Russia and granted for two wild-caught killer whales, also known as orcas, to be exported to China."[12] Ocean Kingdom refuses to comment on whether they plan to display orcas in the future, but there are currently 50 aquariums in China, none of which have orcas on display.

Attendance

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Year Attendance
2014 5,504,000[16]
2015 7,486,000[17]
2016 8,474,000[18]
2017 9,788,000[19]
2018 10,830,000[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2023 Global Attractions Attendance Report". 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Brady MacDonald (17 July 2013). "Huge Chinese theme-park project aims to be the 'Orlando of China'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Hengqin ocean resort to open in 2013 29/11/2010". Macau Daily Times. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Hengqin: Chimelong Ocean Kingdom to open before CNY". Macau Daily Times. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  5. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2023 Global Attractions Attendance Report". 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b "China's Hengqin Ocean Kingdom confirmed as world's largest aquarium as attraction sets five world records". Guinness World Records. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  7. ^ Michael Switow (June 2015). "Chimelong Ocean Kingdom - June 2015". IAAPA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Largest Aquarium Window". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  9. ^ Kleiman, Joe (11 November 2016). "Miziker Entertainment Brings Decades of Nighttime Parade Expertise to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom's Journey of Lights". InPark Magazine.
  10. ^ "Chimelong Ocean Kingdom wins 2014 Thea Award". Hengqin.gov.cn. Retrieved 5 August 2015.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Thea Awards 2018". Themed Entertainment Association.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ a b Simon Parry. "Could Zhuhai's new Ocean Kingdom create a market for imported killer whales?". Post Magazine. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Zoochosis: Abnormal and Stereotypic Behaviour in Captive Animals". Born Free Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Ocean Kingdom in China Could Become World Leader in Importing Killer Whales". Coaster-net. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  15. ^ "Message board". Russian Orcas Homepage. 13 October 2013.
  16. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2014 Global Attractions Attendance Report Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.[dead link]
  17. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2015 Global Attractions Attendance Report Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  18. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2016 Theme Index and Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). TEA (Themed Entertainment Association). 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  19. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2017 Theme Index and Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). TEA (Themed Entertainment Association). 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2017.
  20. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2018 Global Attractions Attendance Report Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
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