Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park (Chinese: 荔園遊樂場, or simply 荔園) was a famous amusement park in Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong. Located on the west shore of Lai Chi Kok Bay, the once largest amusement park in Hong Kong attracted all walks for life in the territory.

The park was opened by a businessman Cheung Kwan On in 1949. In 1961, Deacon Chiu (Yau Tak Kan) purchased the park and added the Song dynasty feature. At the beginning it costed 60 HK cents for both adult and child admission.

Theatres, amusement rides, sidestalls and various water games were featured in the park. Amusement rides included a ferris wheel, bumper cars, a carousel, distorted mirrors, a gondola, a coffee cup ride, a ghost house and an ice rink for ice-skating. Lai Chi Kok Zoo with goats, birds, panthers and tigers was also located in the park. An Asian elephant Tinnu (天奴) was the famous figure of the days in the 1950s to 1970s. The elephant died in the park in the 1989. Knife-throwing performances also attracted lots of people. Cantonese opera and singing performances in the park nurtured many TV and cantopop stars like Anita Mui.

In 1976, the park suffered from competition with Ocean Park. On 31st March 1997, the park was closed when the Hong Kong Government decided to use the land for residential use. Towards the end of the park days, it attracted many additional visitors and the count reached 20 thousand visitors on the last night. Animals were sent to Shek Kwu Chau.

Though in 2005 the owner Yau had negotiated with the government to build a new amusement park on Lantau Island, however no results have yet been achieved on this matter.