When it comes to finding the beautiful in forgotten and derelict places, there’s nothing like the faded glamour of an abandoned amusement park. Apart from the fascination of seeing nature reclaim a deserted space and the intrigue of a vanished human presence, there’s a whole other level of strangeness in the fact that the places were created as spectacular fictions in the first place. And maybe that’s why abandoned amusement parks have such a strange mixture of the beautiful, the creepy and the uncanny. Let’s take a look at some of the best examples.
Wonderland
The ruins of the half built amusement park Wonderland lie among fields and houses in Chenzhuang Village, China, about 20 miles northwest of central Beijing. Construction ground to a halt in 1998 after arguments between local government officials and farmers over property prices. There was a brief attempt to resurrect ‘the largest amusement park in Asia’ in 2008 but to no avail.
A farmer standing in his field that contains an abandoned castle building of the amusement park.