Fatal Accident on Motion Simulator at Fun Capital Amusement Park
A fatal accident claimed the life of a woman riding a motion simulator at the Fun Capital vacation resort in Beijing's northern Changping suburb this past weekend.
Reports say the woman, a 51 year-old Shanxi resident named Ding, fell from a height of 10 meters while taking part on the "Dream Time Machine" motion simulator. A park medical worker said the woman died at the scene.
Police say an investigation is pending, and few details have been released about the incident. The motion simulator has been closed to the public since Sunday.
The Dream Time Machine is a motion simulator that has its audience sit on a moving platform that is hoisted in mid-air. Combining real-time movement and special effects, the Dream Time Machine depicts the culture and history of Beijing by giving its audience a bird's eye view of such landmarks as the Great Wall of China and the Olympic Bird's Nest from various points in time.
Called "Forbidden Flight" in Chinese (翱翔紫禁), the motion simulator accommodates 100 audience members per six-minute show, totaling 2,400 people every day. Here's how a promotional photo depicts the Dream Time Machine:
This is by no means the first alarming incident at a Chinese amusement park in 2017.
A teenager died when she was flung off a motorized ride at the Chaohua Amusement Park in Chongqing this past February, while a woman suffered severe head trauma this past June while riding the "Tornado" ride at the Happy Water Rubik's Cube, Beijing's largest open-air water park.
Malfunctions have plagued Beijing's Happy Valley Amusement Park, causing visitors to get stuck on its rides this past Mother's Day as well last year when an errant bird inadvertently activated a safety override, stranding riders 30 meters above the ground on the Crystal Wing roller coaster.
While Shanghai has seen the most active development in its amusement parks recently, a number of ambitious plans are in store for those located in Beijing.
After last year's unveiling of a 100 meter-high ferris wheel at Shijingshan Amusement Park, the next major development will be the opening of Universal Studios theme park, expected to open in 2020. Meanwhile, Bejing's restaurant industry recently announced plans to team up with local amusement parks and build "old-style experience streets" to attract diners.
For all of Beijing's successes with amusement parks, there have also been failures. The Beijing Amusement Park finally shut down in 2010 after serving the public from its central Chongwenmen location for 23 years. Before that, plans to build Asia's largest theme park in 1996 came to an end when land negotiation for Beijing's Wonderland stalled indefinitely, leading to its eerie legacy of abandoned structures.
And, for the record, there hasn't been any further developments regarding Jackie Chan's plans to build his own museum/theme park in Beijing.
Images: iscp.com.cn, diyitui.com, sohu.com, Qunar.com
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