The Kingdom of the Little People is a theme park near

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

that features comic performances by people with

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

. Supporters of the park claim that it provides employment to people who would otherwise be unable to find work, but it has been criticized for treating dwarfism as a humorous condition.

Employees

As of 2010, there were over 100 employees whose ages ranged from 19 to 48. The park requires employees to be less than tall. The employees live in nearby dormitories which were specifically constructed to be accessible to short people. During the performances, the actors pretend to live in small mushroom shaped houses. The park was founded in September 2009 by Chen Mingjing, a wealthy real estate investor, as part of a complex he owns near

Dian Lake Dianchi Lake (), also known as Lake Dian and Kunming Lake (), is a large lake located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau close to Kunming, Yunnan, China. Its nickname is the "Sparkling Pearl Embedded in a Highland" () and it was the model for the Ku ...

in the western suburbs of Kunming that also includes the World Butterfly Ecological Park (世界蝴蝶生态园). Although many visitors to the park are students from nearby towns, Chen hopes to make the park a destination for tourists visiting China. He provides English lessons for his employees to help them interact with foreign tourists. He aims to eventually employ 1,000 people with dwarfism.

Performances

The performers sing, dance, and perform onstage for visiting tourists. They often act out

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

, scenes from fairy tales, or ballets such as

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

. They also occasionally perform hip-hop dances. The performances often feature a "Dwarf King.” The king, who is only tall, often wears a gold silk cape and rides a three-wheeled motorcycle during performances. Kingdoms-of-dwarves-10

Controversy

The park has been criticized by several organizations, including the

Little People of America Little People of America (LPA) is a non-profit organization which provides support, resources, and information to individuals with dwarfism and their families. Founding LPA was founded in 1957 by actor Billy Barty when he informally called upon p ...

and

Humanity & Inclusion Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap InternationalOn January 24th 2018, the global Handicap International network changed its name and became Humanity & Inclusion. This was done "to communicate more effectively on the diversity of its activiti ...

. Critics contend that the park resembles a

human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...

and isolates its employees from the rest of society. Chen claims that the business provides employment for many who would otherwise be unemployed, allowing them to build self-respect. Many employees have said that they enjoy living with other short people and feel less lonely at the park. They say that before they were employed by Chen they were unable to find work or were exploited by employers. The American television channel,

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

, started partly by director Spike Jonze, filmed a piece for their show, Vice Essentials, at the Kingdom of the Little People in 2015. In their short documentary they interviewed some of the staff and were taken on a tour of the park, including the dorms and behind the scenes places that visitors are not normally privy to.

References

External links

Official Website

The Empire of Chinese Dwarves (video + pics)
{{coord, 24.850382, 102.622261, display=title 2009 establishments in China Amusement parks in China Buildings and structures in Kunming Tourist attractions in Yunnan

Employees

Performances

Controversy

See also

References

External links