Xiangjiang Joy Town Amusement Park

(Photo/Xu Xing, for China Daily)

(Photo/Xue Yuge, Xinhua)

The Xiangjiang Joy Town Amusement Park is Hunan's first world-class large comprehensive tourist project. It was built above an abandoned pit more than 100 meters deep in Changsha's Pingtang subdistrict as part of efforts to restore the environment and boost urban development.

Pingtang, on the outskirts of Changsha, was home to a cluster of more than 30 construction material and chemical factories in the 1950s that caused serious pollution.

In 2008 the city government shut down dozens of cement and chemical plants, leading to a significant reduction in air and water pollution. One of the businesses that shut down, a cement company, left behind a huge pit covering an area of 180,000 square meters.

To heal the scar on the land, Hunan Xiangjiang New Area Investment Group spent 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) building the amusement park, which includes a lake. Construction work began in November 2015. Other attractions built nearby, including a shopping street and a movie theme town, helped reinvigorate the old industrial area.

(Photo/Xu Xing, Hunan Daily)

(Photo/Xu Xing, Hunan Daily)

As the world's only theme park suspended in a 100-meter deep pit that features both snow and water activities, the Xiangjiang Joy Town Amusement Park is honored as “a miracle below the horizon”. It has two core amusement projects -- “Happy Snowfield” and "Happy Water Village”. The "Happy Snowfield" covers an area of 3,156 square meters, and is divided into snow-playing area and skiing area. Inside, there are two Alpine towns connected by snow cable cars and ropeways. It is an indoor snow and ice world with the most snow slides and the most diverse skiing experience in the country. The 80,000-sqm "Happy Water Village" is the “roof” of the amusement park. It is divided into three theme areas: family play area, wave pool, and screaming area (not open yet). It provides more than 20 water-playing facilities.

Add.: No. 168, Section 2, Tanzhou Avenue, Yuelu District, Changsha 
Opening hours: 10:00-22:00
Service hotlines: 0731-81875555; 0731-81859589

How to get there: 
Bus
-Take Bus No. 207, 418, or 938, get off at the Pingtang Avenue and Qingfeng South Road Intersection Station or Shimengtang Station, and then walk to the park.

Subway
-Take Changsha Metro Line 3, get off at the Shantang Station, and then take a shuttle bus to the park.

Chinese source: China Daily; changsha.gov.cn; Wechat official account of Xiangjiang Joy Town Amusement Park