Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park was an
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
on the west shore of
Lai Chi Kok Bay
Lai Chi Kok Bay ( Chinese: 荔枝角灣) or Lai Wan ( Chinese: 荔灣) was a bay west of Lai Chi Kok in Hong Kong. North of the bay is Kau Wa Keng. The bay was largely recreational during its history. In the early and mid 20th century, bathing pav ...
in
Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok is a neighbourhood in Kowloon, Hong Kong, east of Kwai Chung and west of Cheung Sha Wan. Mei Foo Sun Chuen is the largest housing estate in the area and also the largest in Hong Kong with 99 blocks. Administratively, it belongs t ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. It was once the largest amusement park in Hong Kong, and attracted people from all walks of life in the territory.
History
Operation
The park was originally opened by businessman
Cheung Kwan On Cheung is a Cantonese romanization of several Chinese surnames, including the one written as in Traditional characters and in Simplified characters ( Jyutping: Zoeng1; Pinyin: '' Zhāng''; Wade–Giles: Chang, Vietnamese: Trương), and the one ...
on 16 April 1949. In 1961,
Deacon Chiu
Deacon Chiu Te-ken, JP (; 1 May 1924 – 17 March 2015) was a Hong Kong entrepreneur. He founded Far East Bank and Far East Consortium and was formerly chairman of Asia Television (ATV).
Life
Chiu was born in Shanghai in 1924 and moved to Hong ...
purchased the park and started improving it.
In 1976, the park started losing business to
Ocean Park.
In 1995, the
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
was temporarily closed because engineers were dissatisfied with its condition.
The admission fee started at 60 HK cents for both adult and child admission, but by 1997 it had risen to
HK$
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...
12–$25. A
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
, which cost $13, let visitors get a view of the whole park.
Features
Rides & entertainment
The park featured theatres,
amusement ride
Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment.
Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...
s, sidestalls, and various water games. Amusement rides included a
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
,
bumper car
Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...
s, a
carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
, distorted mirrors, a gondola, a coffee cup ride, ghost house, and a ding-dong boat.
Knife-throwing performances also attracted visitors. An
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
was part of the winter display, which also included a Snow garden where snow was created for people who had never seen it in the hot climate of Hong Kong.
![LaiPark tri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/LaiPark_tri.jpg)
Some of the names of rides and stops include the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
village, Twin Dragon, Space Car, Sky Merry, Monster, Dragon Coaster, Dark Ride, Astro Swinger, Astro Air Boat, Orient Express, Surprising House, Haunted Mansion and Grandish House.
Fortune telling
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...
was also available at the park.
Beneath the restaurant was Hong Kong's largest
wax museum
A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes.
Some wax museums have a special section dubb ...
at the time, featuring many leading figures from China's history.
Performances
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...
and singing performances in the park nurtured TV and
cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
stars like
Anita Mui
Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...
.
Lai Chi Kok Zoo
Lai Chi Kok Zoo (), located on the west shore of
Lai Chi Kok Bay
Lai Chi Kok Bay ( Chinese: 荔枝角灣) or Lai Wan ( Chinese: 荔灣) was a bay west of Lai Chi Kok in Hong Kong. North of the bay is Kau Wa Keng. The bay was largely recreational during its history. In the early and mid 20th century, bathing pav ...
, was a small private zoo which operated between 1951 and 1993. It had 21 pens in a crescent shaped grounds with a variety of animals from around the world, including
binturong
The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining pop ...
,
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
,
sika deer
The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...
, goat from Germany,
Chinese alligator, lion,
black panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
,
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
,
peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
,
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
(Mountain Lion),
Bactrian camel
The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped drom ...
, giraffe,
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
,
Saltwater crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...
, and
Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...
. In 1996, 12 young
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
s from
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
were brought to the park. All of them were offspring of the world's largest crocodile, recorded in the
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
.
Its star attraction was an
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
Tino (or Tinnu) (). While a baby, Tino was part of a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
and was given to the Zoo in 1958. It was the most popular animal in the 1950s to 1970s and suffered from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and was put down in February 1989.
After 1976, the zoo suffered from competition with the much larger
Ocean Park. On 31 July 1993, the zoo was closed. This decision was hastened by the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
refusing import licences for new animals, it has since been redeveloped for residential purposes. Most of the remaining animals were sent to Xili Lake Wild Animal Park (now called
Shenzhen Safari Park
Shenzhen Safari Park () is a zoo in Shenzhen, China. It is located in near Xili Lake in Xili Subdistrict. and covers an area of 1.2 million square meters. It is the first zoo in China to have uncaged animals. There are over 300 species and m ...
) in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
. Concern has subsequently been expressed about their welfare in view of criticism of the Safari Park's standards of animal care. The
Saltwater crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...
s remained at the Park until it closed in 1997 and were then taken to
Shek Kwu Chau
Shek Kwu Chau is an island of Hong Kong, located south of Lantau Island and between Cheung Chau and the Soko Islands. Administratively, it is part of Islands District.
Shek Kwu Chau is a restricted area and a permit is required to visit the ...
.
Closure
On 31 March 1997, the park was closed after the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
decided to use the land for residential public housing.
Many additional visitors came to the park as it was about to close, and there were 80,000 visitors on the last two days alone.
The animals from the zoo were sent to
Shenzhen Safari Park
Shenzhen Safari Park () is a zoo in Shenzhen, China. It is located in near Xili Lake in Xili Subdistrict. and covers an area of 1.2 million square meters. It is the first zoo in China to have uncaged animals. There are over 300 species and m ...
in 1993.
In 1997, Regional Services Department curators spent months negotiating with Far East Hotels and Entertainment to buy the amusements from the closed park, with their historical value. Popular rides such as the Ferris wheel and the ding-dong boats were moved to
Hai Mun county, Shanghai where the owner
Deacon Chiu Te-ken has family ties. The oldest rides, such as the dodgem cars, were sold to
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
or demolished.
Renegotiation
In 2005, the owner Yau negotiated with the government to build a new amusement park on
Lantau Island
Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...
.
However no results have yet been achieved on this matter.
A new version of Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park opened in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
on 26 June 2015. Being free of admission fee, some games are charged with game coins.
References
External links
*
Historical pictures of Lai yunOld photos from the park
{{Zoos of Hong Kong
Lai Chi Kok
1949 establishments in Hong Kong
Kwai Chung
Former buildings and structures in Hong Kong
Defunct amusement parks
1997 disestablishments in Hong Kong
Amusement parks opened in 1949
Amusement parks closed in 1997