Park guide and photos by Gavin Jones



This is the original Happy Valley park, located in Shenzhen, a city in the south of China around an hour from Hong Kong by train. Despite having a lot of the same rides as its larger cousin in Beijing, the atmosphere is very different. This is largely in part to Shenzhen's sub-tropical climate, giving parts of Happy Valley a very lush feel.



The park is divided into eight areas, plus a water park, but only six of these have rides. They are Typhoon Bay, Happy Times, Shangri La Woods (above photo), Gold Mine Town, Mt. Adventure, and Magic Castle, which is due to open in late 2007/2008. The first area guests will see is Happy Times, which has a very "fairground" feel to it. Don't let that fool you though, as you move deeper into the park, the theming becomes gorgeous.

It may just have been the day these pictures were taken, but park operations were extremely slow, with staff who were surly to the point of rudeness, something that seems to be a common thread in Chinese parks.