Our 21 year old daughter, Sarah, here for a month, convinced us we needed to check out Pearl Land. So on a beautiful sunny Saturday in January (temperature in the low 70’s) Mike, Nathan, Sarah, and I hopped on the city bus, hopped off at the first stop and entered Pearl Land. Three itinerant vendors greeted us at the entrance selling baked sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, chestnuts, and bottled drinks. Regardless of the weather, if the calendar says it is winter, the Chinese eat winter foods and dress in winter clothes.
We walked across the cavernous parking lot, stepping over the weeds growing between the cracks. Buying tickets was easy since no one else was in line. 80 RMB per person (about 12 dollars) got us in the front gate. Here are Sarah and Nathan standing in front of the entrance fountain.
The park was equipped with everything an amusement park needs: ice cream shops, roller coasters, bumper cars, go-carts, haunted house, house of illusions, kiddie rides, merry-go-round, souvenir shops, and live music shows. Every shop and ride was staffed with two or three workers. The park could accommodate a couple thousand people, but we were joined by maybe a total of 75 throughout the day. Like so much of Zhuhai, buildings lie empty, waiting for an influx of people from the countryside. Luxury condominiums, office buildings, and parks stand empty, ready for the arrival of a new middle and upper class. The ticket price for Pearl Land is too high for the average factory worker in Zhuhai. The wealthy would rather take their children to the more sophisticated and modern Disney World in Hong Kong.
The roller coasters were fun – especially since we didn’t have to wait in line. We found the scariest part of the ride was wondering if the rusty tracks would actually hold the cars as they sped around the bends.
We came upon a live music performance by a rock band. A handful of people sat in the large outdoor amphitheater listening. We hurried by since the lead singer sang flat and strained. Chinese children must get no training in correct vocal singing in school, learning their singing techniques from karaoke. Everywhere I go I hear bad singing!
“Experience World” was a strange combination of haunted house and faux reproductions of famous places in the world. The Sphinx leered down at us from the ceiling as we walked down a dark narrow hallway. In another section, there was a miniature cityscape of New York City that still had the twin towers standing in Manhattan. We couldn’t decide if “Experience World” was supposed to be scary or just weird.
Bumper cars were the most popular spot for a school group of 25 teenagers. Dressed in their polyester pants suit uniforms they loved driving these “Dodg’em Cars” as the sign called them. True to the name, the students tried hard to avoid hitting each other. What’s the point of bumper cars if you don’t bump into each other??! It didn’t take long once the four of us got behind the wheel for the Chinese students to discover the fun of crashing into each other.
Another favorite spot for the school group was the largest roller coaster. We had to wait a few minutes in line to ride this. The Chinese understanding of queues was quite evident here. Sarah, Nathan, and I had been waiting in line for 5 minutes behind about 10 students, when the roller coaster cars stopped in front of us. About 30% of the students didn’t bother to get out because they wanted to ride again. The other 70% understood the rules and raced out the exit and back up the entrance steps. Like good Americans we stood in the line waiting our turn, while the Chinese students ran right ahead of us. Our mistake was to leave a gap in front of and beside us. To Chinese people, if there is an empty space near the entrance to anything (the bus, the concert, the store, the check-out counter) that means they can move into it. They don’t consider it cutting in line and they don’t consider it rude. It’s just how things are done here. Quickly Sarah, Nathan, and I moved into a cluster behind the Chinese students and with a little pushing, found an empty roller coaster car.
Our afternoon at Pearl Land satisfied our curiosity. It is indeed an amusement park -one in need of a few coats of paint, but mostly in need of more customers.
