Coming to Sydney: A Chinese Theme Park

This afternoon I came across this article talking about how China has reached a deal with a city council near Sydney to build a Chinese Theme Park. The $10million project will see a park created with replicas of historical Chinese places, traditional shops, temples and other cultural icons. Slated to be completed in 2020 (if it ever happens--don't underestimate the NSW government's ability to do nothing), I'm doubtful that I'll even be around to see it, but should it happen, I'm sure it'll be lots of fun.

Reading the article reminded me of my first tour in Korea and an outing I partook in with my school, venturing beyond our little enclave of traditional Korean culture to see an English theme park, known quite commonly as an English Village.

The idea of English villages is that you bring students there for camps, retreats and day trips to improve their English by experiencing "life" in another country (before you return to your mountain village in East Asia that evening). My students went absolutely bonkers and were so excited to go! I must admit, I was a little excited too. In fact, the English Village exceeded my expectations. There was a pub, a library, a gym, a town hall, post office, theatre, gift shot, hospital, an airport complete with immigration (we entered the park through here and were given passports), and even housing where the teachers lived and visitors could stay! It really was quite incredible.

So when I say that I'm sure this Chinese theme park will be fun, I say it with (a hint) of seriousness. Despite the kitsch that will undoubtedly be found in abundance, I'm sure it'll be a real learning experience for people who visit. Who knows--maybe I will learn a little Mandarin when I visit!