Wonderland Amusement Park (Beijing)

{{For|other parks of the same name|Wonderland Amusement Park (disambiguation){{!}}Wonderland Amusement Park}}

{{Short description|Unfinished amusement park in Beijing}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox amusement park

| name = Wonderland

| image = Wonderland Beijing 1.jpg

| image_size = 220px

| alt = A grey concrete and brick castle, wood frames outlining the conical roofs.

| caption = View of Wonderland in 2010 before the structure was demolished

| resort =

| location = Changping District, Beijing

| location2 =

| location3 = China

| coordinates = {{Coord|40.2330|116.1638|type:landmark||display=inline,title}}

| theme =

| homepage =

| owner = Reignwood Group

| general_manager =

| operator =

| opening_date = Never opened (abandoned)

| closing_date = Construction stopped 2008

| previous_names =

| season =

| visitors =

| area_acre = 120

| rides =

| coasters =

| water_rides =

| slogan =

| status = Demolished

| footnotes =

}}

File:Wonderland Park near Beijing.jpg

Wonderland was an unfinished amusement park project located in Chenzhuang Village ({{Lang|zh|陈庄村|italic=no}}), Nankou Town ({{Lang|zh|南口地区|italic=no}}), Changping District, Beijing, China. Originally proposed by the Thailand-based property developer Reignwood Group,{{cite news |last=Alsop |first=Zoe |date=22 December 2011 |title=Pictures: China's Fake Disneyland, Overgrown and Ghostly |newspaper=National Geographic Daily News |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/12/pictures/111222-china-fake-disneyland-disney-world-travel/ |url-status=dead |accessdate=19 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111232651/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/12/pictures/111222-china-fake-disneyland-disney-world-travel/ |archive-date=11 November 2020}} and designed to be the largest amusement park in Asia (to have covered {{convert|120|acre}}), construction stopped in 1998 following financial problems with local officials, while a 2008 attempt to start construction again also failed.{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Alan |date=13 December 2011 |title=China's Abandoned Wonderland |newspaper=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/12/chinas-abandoned-wonderland/100207/ |url-status=live |accessdate=17 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103115351/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/12/chinas-abandoned-wonderland/100207/ |archive-date=3 November 2022}}

The site featured a number of abandoned structures, including the framework of a castle-like building and medieval-themed outer buildings. Land was reclaimed by local farmers to grow their various crops while the site was abandoned. People have reported when visiting the site that, sometimes, there would still be parking attendants in the site's parking lot, presumably to tend to onlookers and curious sightseers that came to visit.{{cite news |last=Judkis |first=Maura |date=13 December 2011 |title=See China's 'Wonderland,' an abandoned fake-Disneyland (PHOTOS) |newspaper=HuffPost |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/see-chinas-wonderland-an-abandoned-fake-disneyland-photos/2011/12/13/gIQA5vDAsO_blog.html |accessdate=14 December 2011}}

The abandonment of such a massive construction project raised concerns about the existence of a property bubble in China.{{cite news|last=Shedlock |first=Mike |title=This Abandoned Theme Park on the Edge of Shanghai Is Only The First Sign of a Major Crash |url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-13/markets/30510719_1_property-sales-property-bubble-amusement |accessdate=14 December 2011 |newspaper=Business Insider |date=13 December 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207131934/http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-13/markets/30510719_1_property-sales-property-bubble-amusement |archive-date=7 February 2012 }}{{cite news|last=Gray|first=David|title=Editor's Choice Slideshow|url=https://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2V6TR#a=1|accessdate=14 December 2011|work=Reuters|date=12 December 2011|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006132109/http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2V6TR#a=1|url-status=dead}}

The incomplete and abandoned structures were demolished in May 2013, leaving no hope for the abandoned park to ever be finished. While there was no official indication of what would be done with the grounds of where the park once stood, An Feng, Reignwood Group's chief inspector for the company's investment supervision department, stated a "comprehensive luxury product supermarket" would be built on the site, but at that time the project was still going through "planning permission formalities".{{cite news|last=Liqiang|first=Hou|title=Beijing's Wonderland amusement park demolished|url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-05/13/content_16496295.htm|newspaper=China Daily USA|date=13 May 2013|accessdate=18 November 2013}}

Construction on a shopping mall, the Badaling Outlets ({{zh|c=八达岭奥莱|p=Bādálǐng Àolái}}), was later completed in 2015 and opened to the public on 26 June of that year.{{cite web |last1=Ren |first1=Yuan |date=26 June 2015 |title=Abandoned theme park turned mega shopping mall |url=http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Blogs-Around_Town_Blogs/143845/Abandoned-theme-park-turned-mega-shopping-mall.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229113037/http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Blogs-Around_Town_Blogs/143845/Abandoned-theme-park-turned-mega-shopping-mall.html |archive-date=29 February 2020 |accessdate=30 October 2017 |website=Time Out Beijing |publisher=Time Out Group Ltd}}