Ocean Park Hong Kong
The Ocean Park (Chinese: 海洋公園; Pinyin: Hǎiyáng Gōngyuán) is a theme amusement park in Hong Kong. The marine-themed amusement park is currently the largest and it is based in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan, on Hong Kong Island.
It features a panda exhibit, a butterfly garden, a shark tank, and a three-storey aquarium, as well as numerous rides. The park also has its own cable car system, which takes visitors from one side of the park to the other (the two parts are separated from each other by hills). The official mascot of Ocean Park is "Whiskers" -- a waving sealion.
Besides of being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong also consist of observatories, well developed laboratories, an education department and a Whales And Dolphins Fund.
Ocean Park Hong Kong being the first association in the world to have success in artificial insemination on bottle nose dolphins, and developed numerous new breeds of goldfish, had proofed the standard of its laboratories.
Overview
Ocean Park was built in the Southern District on Hong Kong Island. It covers an area of about 870,000 square metres of land and currently has over 40 rides and attractions. The park is operated by Ocean Park Corporation which is a statutory board. It offers affordable marine animal education and entertainment and is a non-profit organization.
History
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Ocean park is currently about 28 years old and has many achievements during its interesting history. The park was built with donations from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (now Hong Kong Jockey Club). The park is operated by Ocean Park Corporation which is a statutory board. It offers affordable marine animal education and entertainment and is a private organization for commercial purposes.
Further development (direct)
Ocean Park announced a redevelopment master plan to redevelop the park into the world's best marine-based theme park, doubling the amount of attractions and firmly establishing itself as a world-class, must-see destination that will further strengthen Hong Kong as a premier tourist destination. In the next few years HK$ 5.55 billion will be spent on refurbishing Ocean Park with over 100 new rides being installed so that it can compete with Disneyland. In the last few years the Middle Kingdom, the portion of the park that features re-creations of ancient China, has been renovated.
The new Ocean Park will be divided into two major areas - The Waterfront (formerly the Lowland) and The Summit (formerly the Headland). The park will be expanded to almost twice its current size and new attractions will be added including a funicular train for transport from The Waterfront to The Summit, several new live animal shows and an area featuring polar animals.
Further development (indirect)
Ocean Park also announced that there will also be an MTR station on the South Island Line that will link the current subway system with Ocean Park and the south of Hong Kong Island. This project will therefore decrease traffic through the Aberdeen Tunnel.
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