Huaxi’s biggest new attraction partially opened and under construction is its Fairyland,

But that won’t completely open until 2019. In the meantime, Fairyland is troying to hold over fans with Pixar Fest, a collection of new and revamped shows and rides.

This week I went to Guiyang Happy World 90 minutes away from my medical school.

I haven’t been to a theme park in a long while. I was looking forward to it but, like all of my experiences in China, I’ve learnt not to use my Indian life as a parallel or point of reference to anything in China. I was expecting something a little more gritty and undoubtedly a little more dangerous than the parks I’m used to back in India.

The first thing that hit me about the park was the complete lack of life. Aside from a few groups of friends and the odd family, the park was barren. It was like an old abandoned theme park that you’d read about in Stephen King horror story. I was half expecting a 7ft clown to dash out from behind a carousel and capture us for use in a haunted house.

On the flipside, no crowds = no queueing for the rides. Me and Nargis hopped hopped through the park without once waiting in a line.

There was the usual set of rides. The big juggernaut of a roller coaster at the entrance and exit and the set of intermediate rides in between; the pirate ship, carousels, the logflume, dodgems, finding Nemo-themed choo choo trains and so on. Being the tight fisted people we are we made a mission of going on everyone of them.

If you’ve ever bought anything from china (you have) then you may be aware that build quality is not exactly a priority in this country. With this in mind, some of the rollercoasters had a very real edge to them. Not only were they scary rides, they also had that quaint chinese quality about them that maybe, just maybe, that they might collapse mid ride. This ran through my head when, as I was getting strapped in for one particular ride (see below; the mammoth yellow one), two workmen to the left of me were balancing on top of the structure tightening the bolts for us.

Half way through the day was the logflume’s turn. Thinking about it, logflumes are always terrible. You get one rush off of them and, unless you buy a raincoat at extra cost, you’re getting a wet behind for the rest of the day. As you can see from the gallery, we saved our cash and took the full force of the flume. No regrets.

Once done with the rides, we hitched a ride on a black taxi with the a beautiful divorcee. She was quite happy that she won custody of the child and, apparently, to share private matters with strangers. If you’re to take anything from that, don’t ever divorce a chinese woman. She will air your dirty laundry.

The Walt Disney Company seems to have spared no expense in building its sixth theme park which opened on June 16 2016 in Shanghai, China after a decade of planning and five years of construction. The $5.5-billion Shanghai Disneyland is a colossal 963-acre park three times larger than Hong Kong Disneyland and anchored by the tallest castle in any Disney theme park. The joint venture with China-based Shanghai Shendi Group, which owns 57% of the park, is the glitziest in a spate of entertainment firms rushing to establish themselves in the world’s most populous nation, one run by a regime that increasingly views entertainment as a vital component of its soft power.

The meticulously orchestrated opening was done in June 16, 2016.

As well as a massive financial investment, Disney’s new park relies on technology the company hopes will augment all its parks. Shanghai Disneyland was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) using Building Information Modeling (BIM), a 3D model-based process of designing everything from the Steamboat Willie entrance fountain to Roarin Mountain. Imagineers—Disney’s term of art for its enginneers—were able to couple these 3D models with tablets on site, while using the latest virtual reality headsets and DISH (Digital Immersive Showroom) technology to share their progress.

According to Mark Mine, creative technology executive at WDI’s Creative Technology Studio, DISH allowed imagineers to work across locations from Shanghai to Glendale, California and Orlando. The large white rooms work with projectors and 3D glasses, allowing multiple people to experience rides, attractions, and hotel rooms before construction even began in 2011. “We link our DISH’s together, which is also very important because as an international company we can load up a model in Orlando and have people walk through it simultaneously in Shanghai,” Mine said. “It allows us to do reviews across multiple sites. And that’s something that we’re going to continue to push and develop.”

Disney’s first theme park in mainland China is divided into six lands: Fantasyland, Treasure Cove, Tomorrowland, Gardens of Imagination, Adventure Isle, and Mickey Avenue.

Towering 196.8 feet above Fantasyland is the park’s Enchanted Storybook Castle, which includes retail, dining, and theatrical spaces, as well as two attractions. It’s home to Once Upon a Time, an indoor, walk-through exhibit of all the Disney Princesses that blends dioramas with screens displaying classic Disney animation. The Voyage to the Crystal Grotto boat ride travels through Fantasyland and underneath the castle for its finale, which features music and animation from films such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast.

Fantasyland, the largest land in the park, is also home to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster, the Peter Pan’s Flight dark ride, and the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh dark ride (all of which are also in the Orlando Magic Kingdom). The outdoor, walk-through Alice in Wonderland Maze is home, no wonder, to characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Red Queen, and others from the films set within a leafy labyrinth.