China to open first virtual reality theme park
GUIYANG: Giant robots and futuristic cyberpunk castles rise out of lush mountain slopes on the outskirts of Guiyang, the capital of one of China’s poorest provinces.
Welcome to China’s first virtual reality (VR) theme park, which aims to ride a boom in demand for virtual entertainment that is set to propel tenfold growth in the country’s VR market, to hit almost US$8.5 billion (RM35 billion) by 2020.
The 134ha park in southwestern Guizhou province promises 35 VR attractions, from shoot’em-up games and virtual rollercoasters, to tours with interstellar aliens of the region’s most scenic spots.
“After our attraction opens, it will change the entire tourism structure of Guizhou province, as well as China’s southwest,” chief executive Chen Jianli said.
“This is an innovative attraction, because it’s just different,” he said in an interview at the park, part of which is scheduled to open next February.
The US$1.5-billion Oriental Science Fiction Valley Park, is part of China’s thrust to develop new drivers of growth, centred on trends such as gaming, sports and cutting-edge technology, to cut reliance on traditional industries.
In the push to become a centre of innovative tech, Guizhou is luring firms, such as Apple Inc, which has sited its China data centre there, while the world’s largest radio telescope is in nearby Pingtang county.
The park says it is the world’s first of its kind, although virtual reality-based attractions from the United States to Japan already draw interest from consumers and video gamers seeking a more immersive experience.
The Guiyang theme park will offer tourists bungee jumps from a huge Transformerlike robot, and a studio devoted to producing virtual reality movies.
Most rides will use VR goggles and motion simulators to thrill users. Reuters