DALIAN WATERPARK – CHUTE FOR THE STARS – GRADE A*

A bit further afield for this Burbex,  Dalian is a coastal city in the North East of China. Hidden at the end of the one of the most popular beaches in the city, is this hidden gem, the ultimate in Urbex chic, that’s right, it’s an abandoned waterpark. Not only that, but it has a huge faux-mansion beside it.

      

  

  

  

   

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There’s more than one way to kill a cat, an electric cable through the gut is pretty novel though. To escape, you must pass a festering sewage outlet. It smells much worse than it looks.

CAPITAL STEEL – STEEL LABORATORY – GRADE B+

How many times have I been to Capital Steel, and how many times have I found new areas to explore. This latest trip was a bonanza of new finds. Along with entering the lofts where coal was moved along on mile-long conveyor belts, co-explorer Vom and I went further into the plant than ever, coming clear out of the other side where the cooling towers are located.

Along the way we found the laboratory where we found everything pretty much as the scientists had left it on the last day. So many bottles, flasks and crazy machines. Unfortunately, Vom got a touch of heat stroke, and threw up (hence the nickname), but are adventures have seen the whole plant covered now.

         

    

    

     

Capital Steel – we salute you – It would have been a Grade A, but with the heatstroke comes an important reminder to take candy and water with you when you go urbexing. Of course, if any time you want to come urbexing with me, just leave a message and we can arrange a time, make sure you bring a sick bag though.

QIANMEN GATE HAUNTED HOTEL – BEIJING – GRADE B+

Nestled near the entrance to the Hutongs (alleyways) near Qianmen Gate, the entrance to the famous Tienanmen Square, lies this haunted hotel. Upon asking locals about the hotel, they said that it used to be the residence of a Nationalist leader before the revolution in the nineteen-forties, but after the revolution it was abandoned and then later turned into a cheap hotel.

Unlike much of the surrounding area which has been demolished and gentrified to give Beijing’s history a more polished look, this building exerts power and more than a little menace over its small corner. The architecture of the building crosses western and Chinese styles which was very typical of the period. On the outside it looks like a western orphanage, but on the inside it is one hundred percent Chinese.

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Going in you can hear every door in the whole place creaking in the wind. Entering into the hotel rooms you get a strong sense that these rooms have seen a lot of visitors and that some of them might never have left. It has three floors, and there is possibly a cellar which might connect to the underground city, but this is still yet to be found.

   

This is an easy place to get into, but beware the balconies as they are very rickety and could collapse at any time adding you to the list of guests who never check out,

      

   

BEIJING SPACE & SCIENCE MUSEUM – BEIJING – GRADE B-

Just a stone’s throw from The World Trade Towers in Beijing is the derelict site of Beijing Space and Science Museum. Along with the Planetarium and the The Natural History Museum nearby in the compound, all of these buildings are due for demolition soon. The Space Museum has recently been abandoned by the security guards which makes entering much easier than before.

The museum is spread over nine floors, and the sixth floor opens out onto this awesome roof area affording some great views of the local area. The central roof is made of glass panels which from the atrium below looks magnificent. Unfortunately most of the building has been gutted, but there are a few exhibits remaining in a few hidden corners. It is also very easy to get lost in the maze-like basement, but there are some great rooms to be found.

Like a lot of buildings in Beijing, it was built in the run-up to the Olympics and then just abandoned after the finish of the games. This is a relatively easy place to get into, and there is a lot to see, which is why this earns itself a hearty B-.

FLOATING DRAGON LAKE AMUSEMENT PARK – BEIJING – GRADE B+

Beijing Amusement Park based around the Floating Dragon Lake used to be the premier theme park in Beijing attracting 2.4 million visitors a year. It was famous for its roller coasters, 4D cinema, and the biggest Ferris Wheel in the capital. Now all that remains is the Ferris Wheel which dominates the landscape, and the ruined remains of the aquarium. The site is sealed off from the public, but a quick hop leap and jump make it pretty easy to enter.

The site is connected by a series of bridges between each of the islands, and while most of them are padlocked, you can just jump into the dried out lake bed and run to the islands. The aquarium and the horror house are easy to get into, but not much remains, but the Ferris Wheel is safely contained behind a metal fence. It slowly turns creaking in the wind. Even at night this is an easy exploration which makes it an easy B+.

GREAT MALL OF CHINA – GRADE A-

On the smoggy outskirts of Beijing, far beyond where the subway line finally ends, and the dust dunes roll over the border into Hebei Province, right there on the border, that is where you will find the Great Mall of China. Construction started five/six years ago when the small border town Yanjiao was slated to become the next border boom town. This led to a run on house building and general craziness in the area. Years later, these dreams never came true, and the town, like the Great Mall of China, is deserted.

Getting into the mall is quite simple: find the tunnel under the nearby hospital: emerge and find the pipe under the bullet train railway, jump over the fence and you’re in.While there is security, and by the sound of it heavy work going on, the place is virtually empty, and the two guys on the roof didn’t even pay any attention to me. The smog and dust in the air make a mask necessary on this trip.

Grade A- (would have been more if I could have gotten further in)

   

BEIJING OLYMPIC GHOST TOWN – GRADE B+

 

 

 

Located in the green leafy area of Olympic Park in northwest Beijing, this beautiful ghost village was originally built to house the athletes and some of the staff for the Olympic Games back in 2008. Unfortunately, half way through the construction, enough athletes said that the air quality in central Beijing was so poor, that they would stay outside the city. As a result, this place has been left to rot.

There are a couple of security guards on the main gate, but people always manage to hop over the fence at the back for a quick peek. Be careful entering the houses though. Twice I have fallen through the poorly constructed concrete floors into the flooded basements beneath. This is just such a perfect slice of eeriness urbexers should make this site a priority.

If you want to come and join me for this or any other site, please just send me a message on burbex@outlook.com  and we can arrange a time to meet up.

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The huge club house in the middle of the complex features a large empty swimmiN pool and a myriad of dark karaoke rooms.

BEIJING SATELLITE DISH CEMETERY – GRADE C+

Out in the bleak wastelands of northwest Beijing, where everything is gray and demolished, there lies the Satellite Dish graveyard. Any foreigner that has taken the hellish journey to the health centre to get their health check/stabbing with hypodermic needles, will recognise this view from the taxi ride. The compound, while guarded by lazy looking military personnel, houses probably fifty or more satellite dishes, all in various stages of rustiness.

Adjacent to the site, is the greenhouse area, which is much easier to get into. It is a strange thing in a lot of Chinese cities, that military and government sites will have greenhouses nearby. This is mostly so that they can boast a) self-sufficiency for food, and b) that food can also be grown within the city limits. This idea has gone out of vogue in the last ten years, and Beijing has a lot of empty greenhouses all over the city.

This was not a difficult explore, but damn it was cold in that snow.

RETURN TO CAPITAL STEEL – GRADE A+

    

SUNSHINE PARK – GRADE B+

This is really an unusual site for Beijing as it is in Central Beijing, and is close to the ever-popular Ikea. Called Sunshine Park, it used to have a a large carnival tent in the park which has long since rotted and fallen down. Most of the site apart from the multi-storey carpark has become overgrown. The carpark itself goes down one floor underground, where it has filled up with rain water and gives some incredible effects when the sunlight comes streaming through the holes at around midday. A word of warning however…

The site is relatively safe as long as you don’t fall off the sides of the carpark. Be careful of the junkie who lives in a tent beneath the ramp of the basement floor. He came out of his tent clothed only in his dirty undies, and then started to bounce and scream like a monkey. After that he charged at me. I ran like the wind. I didn’t see him the second time I went. Definitely worth a visit to this beautiful site.