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)

   

Solana Hotel Chaoyang – Grade B+

      

Construction on the Solana Hotel was abandoned a few years ago. With its unique architectural styling including spiral staircases, and empty swimming pool, numerous towers, and best of all the secret tunnels that run under the basmement, Solana is a joy to explore and you will need at least a whole afternoon.

Maybe the best part about Solana is listening to the shoppers on the other side of the wall randomly buying stuff in the luxury mall. Also fun is spying on the resident security guard who spends most of his time asleep.

This is a solid Grade B+ site for Urbex.

Remember, if you or your friends would like to come Urbexing with me just send me a message, and we can set up a time to meet.

WARNING – This is an dangerous site, there is high risk of flooding on rainy days.