China's New Virtual Reality Theme Park

Experiencing the wonders of outer space will soon only require traveling as far as China.

A new 2,000-acre theme park scheduled to open next month in China’s southern Guizhou Province will specialize in immersing visitors via virtual reality in science and fantasy experiences ranging from battling dragons to living alongside aliens and flying to space.

The park, known as East Valley of Science and Fantasy, will offer virtual tours of the solar system, sci-fi rides that allow for exploring an alien base and journeys on a fictional spaceship.

A joint venture between the Guizhou Ssangyong Airport Economic Zone Administrative Committee and Dongfang Times Network Media Co., (a subsidiary of Mizuki Animation Co., Ltd.) the park cost about 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion USD) to build.

Its construction required integrating virtual reality, augmented reality, holographic technology and more in order to create the what is being billed as the world’s first science fiction park.

Park visitors will be provided with helmets, virtual reality headsets and other technology so that they can interact with the park’s various attractions, Lonely Planet reported.

Spectacular pictures show China's £1 billion virtual reality sci-fi theme park https://t.co/V3T18p2Euq pic.twitter.com/cxj5G9aR6R

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) October 27, 2017

Additional park highlights reported by The Mirror include a towering 173-foot tall Transformer made of 750 tons of steel (that’s the weight of nearly two Boeing 747 airplanes). The transformer will greet guests as they enter the park.

There’ will also reportedly be a hall dedicated entirely to Star Wars, that will include a VR rollercoaster, though details of what the ride will include have not yet been revealed.

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Altogether there will be about 15 themed pavilions across the park that will feature VR rollercoasters, cinemas and children’s play areas.

Beyond these experiences, the park will offer futuristic dining halls, shops and a hotel.

The first phase of the park, an Alien Base, is expected to be finished next month, with additional sections finishing in 2018. Exactly when the park will open to the public remains unclear.

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