Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

So Lemuer Gulliver and his oriental beauty once again found themselves washed upon the shores of the mystical Land of 'Beers N Noodles'. Sadly last Friday (27^th January) Lisa Jane and I took a Shenzhen bound ferry and waved our sad goodbyes to beautiful Macau and the most extreme thing they have done over the past week has been to head down to the Lilliput (Buxian Village – Shenzhen) supermarket to restock the cupboards.

Today I decided to actually brave the cold and head out for the day but by the time I woke I found that I had fallen back to sleep and warmly slept most of the day away.

I then decided to rise and take an adventure on the subway and see where I ended up and after checking my map, I decided on the Splendid China and China Folk Culture Village Theme Parks. By the time I arrived the latter was shutting down for the very late afternoon/evening, so after chatting to one of the Gate Girls I was allowed to head in free of charge, only if I ‘promised’ that I would return to visit the Village/Cultural Park within the next few days.

She was tall, slim and dressed in a tight figure hugging Chinese Silk Dress.
Yeah right, like I could say no!

SPLENDID CHINA

The park contains over a hundred miniature replicas of China’s most famous attractions, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta warriors, Guilin, the Kunming Stone Forest, Potala Palace, etc which is perfect if you're strapped for time and/or money and want to quickly experience ‘China’ in a single afternoon. With a total area measuring over thirty hectares, it is the largest miniature park in the world that besides scenic wonders also offers China's history, art and ancient architecture all of which are surrounded by beautiful gardens and leafy green trees along with over fifty thousand ceramic figures.

WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT & NO MONEY?

For those like me who are fans of the Jonathon Swift novel ‘Gulliver’s Travel’s’, after purchasing a ticket allow yourself to simply become Lemuel Gulliver, but instead of being shipwrecked and washed ashore upon Lilliput Island, maybe the prior evening get hammered at a bar or night club, then find yourself washed up on the shores of the mystical and oriental Land of ‘Beers N Noodles’ and for the next several hours you can stomp your way around most of China found throughout its history.

Having visited most of the originals over the past seven years I actually found the miniatures to be almost identical to their forefathers. For those who are only visiting China for a short time and find themselves in or near Shenzhen city, then this park is more than worth a visit as most of what is to found is so much like its original, though much smaller of course! Throughout the day the park also hosts several live shows depicting various events in Chinese History such as a horse riding show depicting a battle led by Genghis Khan.

From what I can gather though, many are only performed on weekends.
The evening performance is well worth staying for.

So Where Can Lemuel Gulliver Find Himself?

For those that want a bit of Royal Stuff:
‘A Voyage to Brobdingnag’

The Forbidden City (now who doesn’t want to tower over The Imperial Palace?) is the largest and best preserved ancient architectural complex in China. In Splendid China, the miniature encompasses the gorgeous spectacle of Emperor Guangxu's (1875 - 1908) marriage. The Forbidden City has been ornately and beautifully replicated and as with the original the dominant color is yellow, the symbol of the royal family.

The Old Summer Palace, also called Yuan Ming Yuan, was a cultural treasure house of luxurious jewelry, priceless paintings, calligraphy works and rare antiques in the past. But the real Old Summer Palace was reduced into a ruin by the Allied British and French Armies in 1860 and again by the Eight-Powers Allied Army in 1900. The miniature of The Old Summer Palace shows a recreation of the complete and original royal garden. It has been made according to a full and authoritative plan that was found by accident in the Forbidden City in 1990.

For those that want a bit of stone throwing:
A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib and Luggnagg

The Great Wall, with a total length of nearing seven thousand kilometers is the world's longest protective wall. It was built in the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206) and repaired throughout the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). Here Lemuel can find himself towering over three miniaturised sections of the wall made of scree/talus, white stone and small green bricks which were especially made in Beijing for the project.

For Those That Want a Bit of Horsey:
A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses (ranked as the eighth wonder of the world) are located at Xian City, Shaanxi Province. After the first emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty (A.D.221-206) ascended the throne he ordered more than seven hundred thousand workmen to build him a grand mausoleum and here the terracotta figures have been faithfully reproduced and arranged like the originals.

For Those Wanting More of Gullivers Epic Tales

For all the Lemuel Gulliver’s who want to insert another few coins and take the adventure further, then along with more miniatures of places of historical interest, such as the Ancient Observatory of Beijing, the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, Tibet's Potala Palace etc, Splendid China also offers many modern day Lemuel Gulliver natural sites. Found in Anhui Province Huangshan is known throughout the world for its rare pines and bizarre rocks along with its sea of clouds and in the replica of the Li River, Lemuel will find his knees surrounded by a pleasant water and mountain garden which gives a small, yet picturesque view of the seemingly relaxed and contented lifestyle along the real Li River in Guangxi Province.

Turn the page and the adventure continues!
Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by ‘Monster Magnet!’
The album was ‘God Says No’
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