“Closed” the taxi driver said again in Chinese. He probably never thought someone would like to visit an abandoned amusement park in the middle of nowhere. This is Wonderland. It was meant to be Asia’s largest theme park.
Sadly Wonderland remains just a skeleton of a dream. It suffered financial problems. Negotiations with local officials and landowners failed. So construction was abandoned in 1998. There were attempts to revive the project in 2008, but nothing happened.
Many doors are locked, but the entrance beneath one of the corner towers opens with a push. It leads to darkness. Surprisingly, the building is clean inside. There is no litter or graffiti. Only thick dust and rubble from crumbling walls.
White-washed rooms lead to a circular chamber. A spiraling metal staircase ascends to the blue spire above. Up top, you can walk onto the balcony. From here, you can admire Wonderland. Inside and above the city wall, you can see a central plaza. Beyond the wall lies cracked grey tarmac. The car park may never have been used. But the hedges and borders are well maintained. Wonderland Castle rises behind you.
The metal pavilion is gone. The cornfields have been replaced by rocks and dead grass. The hollow spires of the concrete castle rise from a desert of browns and greys. Walking along the Bavarian streets, many doors are locked. The entrance beneath one of the corner towers opens at a push.
Inside, it is surprisingly clean. There is no litter or graffiti. Only thick dust and the occasional rubble from crumbling walls are here. A series of white-washed rooms leads to a circular chamber. From here, a spiraling metal staircase ascends towards the blue spire above.
Up top, step onto the balcony. Admire Wonderland. You are inside and above the city wall. It marks the park’s front perimeter. The wall spreads out on either side of a central plaza. Beyond the wall is a cracked expanse of grey tarmac. The car park might never have been used. However, its hedges and borders are attractive and well-maintained.
Wonderland Castle itself lies behind you. The metal pavilion pictured in earlier images is gone. The cornfields have been replaced by rocks and dead grass. Right in the center of the park rise the hollow spires of the concrete castle.
After a quick look along the battlements, head back down to ground level. The shallow buildings on your right form the front wall of the park. They are topped with crenellations and tiled steeples. The building on your left is much larger. It is a vast, barren warehouse. It’s hard to imagine what was planned for this drab empty space. A mountain of red corn cobs has been left to dry in a corner. A pile of boards stacked against a far wall looks suspiciously like asbestos.
Step over a broken wooden pallet. Head up a freestanding flight of concrete steps to the upper level. There is only a little graffiti here. Much of it seems to have been left by site laborers. One end of this higher floor could almost have been planned as a restaurant. There is a large double doorway opening onto a rooftop terrace.
Have a look around the rooftops. Admire the view of the abandoned castle across the field. Then, head down to the street. The central courtyard features ornate buildings. They have grand palatial facades. Balconies, turrets, and shuttered windows decorate them. The faux-architecture feels like a gaudy parody of Romania’s Bran Castle.