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Chimelong Ocean Kingdom

Zhuhai, China

“A beautiful marine theme park that could use some extra rides”

You can call me a nerd, but I always look forward to the publication of the annual Global Experience Index. This report is published by the Themed Entertainment Association and provides an insight into visitor numbers at theme parks around the world. Much of the numbers are quite predictable. Disney has been claiming the majority of the spots in the top 15 for many years and Magic Kingdom is usually at the top of the ranking. It’s also rather unsurprising that four Universal parks were able to make the most recent list. There’s just one name I would’ve never guessed, and that is Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. In 2024, this park attracted no fewer than 12.6 million visitors, enough to secure a sixth place in the world rankings. To be clear, that’s a higher number than renowned parks like Universal Studios Beijing and Disneyland Park in Paris. Time to explore a park that proves to be extremely popular in China, while being unknown to a majority of foreigners.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom’s sky-high attendance is partly due to its favourable location. The park is situated in the Pearl River Delta, which is made up of major cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau. This is one of the most densely populated regions on the planet, so Ocean Kingdom already has a potential customer base of nearly 90 million people if we only count the locals. Add millions of overseas and Chinese tourists, and you’ll quickly realise how Chimelong manages to boast such outstanding results. Thanks to its proximity to so many global cities, getting to the park is a breeze. The nearest airports are in Zhuhai and Macau, but it’s also easy to reach the Chimelong Resort from Hong Kong. The Golden Bus guarantees a smooth crossing of the 35-mile Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, after which you can continue your journey by public transport or DiDi (the Chinese equivalent of Uber).

CHIMELONG INTERNATIONAL OCEAN TOURIST RESORT

The Chimelong resort in Zhuhai consists of two impressive theme parks, two theatres and four different hotels with a total of nearly 6,000 rooms. The hotel story began in 2014 with the opening of the Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel, whose graceful towers are reminiscent of the Atlantis Resorts in Nassau and Dubai. The hotel lineup was quickly expanded by the Penguin Hotel and the Circus Hotel, both of which are within walking distance of the park’s entrance. The base for our stay is the relatively new Chimelong Spaceship Hotel, adjacent to the resort’s second theme park. I’ll share a more detailed description of that hotel in the next article, but there’s one thing that I want to say right now: room rates of the official Chimelong hotels are incredibly competitive. We opted for a package that included two nights in a spacious double room, breakfast, three days of unlimited access to both theme parks and tickets for the Chimelong Show. It cost 406 euros (approximately 460 USD) for the two of us, which is a fraction of what you’d pay for something similar at Western theme park resorts.

We needed some basic sign language and a translator app to complete our check-in, but apart from that we didn’t encounter any major language barriers at the Chimelong Resort. Some members of the staff spoke a little English, while signage and information boards in the hotels and parks are multilingual. We therefore quickly found our way to the hotel’s bus station, from where a shuttle took us to the resort’s hub. From there, it was barely a 5-minute walk to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom’s turnstiles. There, we immediately noticed that a park with impressive visitor numbers needs an impressive entrance. We entered the park via Ocean Avenue, a covered boulevard that clearly wasn’t meant to support the ‘less is more’ principle. The walls are designed to look like giant coral reefs, while a colossal LED screen above our heads showcases whales, sharks and sea turtles. Very cool way to enter the park.

ROLLER COASTERS

Good news for Zierer fans: the German manufacturer was hired to build two family roller coasters at Ocean Kingdom. The smallest of the two is Penguin Coaster. With its oval-shaped layout and gentle hills, it’s 100 percent child-friendly. It certainly provides fun for the little ones, but we couldn’t convince ourselves to brave the 60-minute queue. Instead, we rode Jungle Coaster, a Force Two model. When it comes to the layout, Jungle Coaster is identical to Vilde Hønsejagt and Rabalder, which can be found at Djurs Sommerland and Liseberg respectively. Those are excellent family roller coasters and so is the version at Ocean Kingdom. In fact, I might like this one even better thanks to its theming. The queue, the station and parts of the track were decorated with huge, whimsically shaped tree trunks. The train also races past a couple of oversized animal sculptures, so I genuinely like Jungle Coaster’s physical appearance.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom could be described as the SeaWorld of Southern China. And just like the American SeaWorld parks, Chimelong turned to B&M to build a thrill ride. The result of this collaboration was Parrot Coaster, a green Wing Coaster which lift hill towers 164 feet (50 metres) above the park. It certainly looks impressive, and the ride’s beauty is further enhanced by the stunning setting in the Amazing Amazon section of the park. Amidst the lush vegetation of this jungle area lies a 4,200-feet-long (1.3 kilometres) layout featuring plenty of near-misses and three inversions. It all sounds fantastic, but my enthusiasm was unfortunately shattered by a disappointing ride experience. Wing Coasters are often characterised by a rather uncomfortable rattle and that isn’t any different in this case. In fact, the B&M rattle is even more notable due to Parrot Coaster’s high overall speed. I’m in love with the coaster’s stunning location and integration, but I just couldn’t convince myself to ride it a second time.

WATER RIDES

Should I classify Polar Explorer as a ‘roller coaster’ or ‘water ride’? We’re talking about a Mack water coaster, so both are correct. But if you really want to know why I’ve ultimately decided to consider Polar Explorer as a water ride, it’s because of the wetness. Believe me… the brave visitors who embark on this icy expedition get absolutely drenched. It’s therefore perfectly understandable that almost everyone wears a poncho, even on warm summer days. Aside from its extreme wetness, Polar Explorer has even more spectacular things to offer. Firstly, there’s the clever integration into a snow-covered mountain. Although the layout is largely identical to that of Poseidon at Europa-Park, the rock formations and tunnels certainly add to the excitement. Secondly, there’s unique interaction with live animals, as the ride begins with a leasurely boat tour past the brown bears’ enclosure. Quite an impressive introduction, if you ask me.

Ocean Kingdom clearly has a preference for Mack Rides when it comes to water attractions. In addition to Polar Explorer, the Germans also delivered a pirate-themed Twist ‘n’ Splash and a SuperSplash. The latter was named Walrus Splash, and I’d like to declare it the most photogenic ride in the entire resort. I’ve always liked Atlantica at Europa-Park, but after a visit to Ocean Kingdom, I realise there’s room for improvement. Just like Polar Explorer, this experience begins with a close-up look in an animal habitat (interestingly, it’s not the walruses’ enclosure). Afterwards, visitors experience an almost exact replica of Atlantica, albeit with considerably more theming. The first turntable was integrated into a colourful lighthouse, whilst the big drop is surrounded by the 115-feet-tall Mount Walrus. This gigantic rock formation counts as the ultimate visual showpiece at Ocean Kingdom, and for that reason alone I consider Walrus Splash as a not-to-be-missed attraction. By the way… we’ve noticed that you do get wet on this water ride, but it’s nowhere near as soaking as Polar Explorer.

DARK RIDES

We’re making a quick jump from the water rides to the underwater ride known as Deep Sea Odyssey. That’s not exactly an original name, but the ride itself managed to surprise us. After a stroll through an excellently themed queue, we took our seats in an Omnimover dark ride, in which the vehicles are designed to look like yellow submarines. We then set off to explore the world beneath the water’s surface. In this particular case, that world consists of a combination of classic dark ride scenes, screens and real underwater environments. Deep Sea Odyssey is located in the basement of Ocean Kingdom’s largest aquarium, which enabled the designers to complement this dark ride with views of dozens of real sharks, rays and other sea creatures. The result is a pretty impressive attraction that feels like a bigger/better version of The Seas with Nemo and Friends at EPCOT.

It may not be a dark ride in the strictest sense of the word, but the 5D Castle Theatre also offers indoor, weatherproof entertainment. I’ll admit that we almost skipped this attraction entirely. Our interest in such 3D films is rather limited, especially if the show is performed in a language we don’t understand. Yet I’m glad that we decided to visit this impressive theatre after all, as the film turned out to be highly entertaining. Chimelong didn’t buy an existing 3D film, but they developed an original production. This show centres on the park’s mascots, and we regularly spotted recognisable locations, such as Mount Walrus and the famous whaleshark statue. The park also managed to add a few cool special effects. Towards the end, for example, you see the main characters break out of the screen, after which they appear in real life high above the auditorium. Really well done.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

I can’t say that Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is short on actual rides. However, the rides mentioned in the paragraphs above are perhaps the only ones truly worth your time. After all, the rest of the offering consists mainly of flat rides that can be seen at dozens of parks across the globe. The Dolphin Round Ride, for example, is a Dumbo-style carousel, the twin Rainforest Drop Towers are comparable to the parachute tower at Disney Adventure World, and the Spirit of Adventure is a swinging ride near Mount Walrus Bay. For young families, there’s Hero Island, a relatively new themed area with a selection of child-friendly flat rides. Bear in mind that these attractions generally do not have a high capacity. In combination with Ocean Kingdom’s visitor numbers, this can lead to long queues.

Is Ocean Kingdom all about the rides? No, it isn’t. This is a maritime theme park, and that obviously includes maritime experiences. The park features an abundance of animal encounters. A trail near Parrot Coaster brings us face to face with manatees, whilst sea lions and walruses can be spotted at the foot of Mount Walrus. The Polar Horizon themed zone, meanwhile, is home to beluga whales, brown bears, polar bears, arctic foxes and penguins (which, unfortunately, live behind a rather cheap-looking facade). In my opinion, the most breathtaking wildlife experience is the Whale Shark Aquarium, situated at the foot of a super-tall whale shark statue. Here, visitors enter an aquarium that can only be described with superlatives. According to the information boards, approximately 15,000 animals live in a tank containing 23 million litres of water. The centrepiece of this habitat is a 130-feet-wide (40 metres) observation window, which guarantees seemingly endless views of the underwater world. We saw several whale sharks swimming by, and believe me… that’s quite an amazing sight.

ENTERTAINMENT

Many of the animals mentioned in the previous paragraph can be admired not only in their natural habitats, but also during a show. I’m sure I don’t need to explain which swimming creatures you’ll see at the Dolphin Theatre, the Sea Lion Theatre and the Beluga Theatre. We were only interested in the beluga show, which, according to the park’s website, has been staged as an elegant Arctic ballet. However, we clearly weren’t the only ones interested, as every seat in the huge theatre was filled more than 40 minutes prior to showtime. Crowds seemed less intense at the other shows, but I’d still recommend arriving early if you really want to catch a certain presentation.

Chimelong seems to know that you always need to save the best for last. After all, the evening entertainment was more than worth the wait. Approximately 30 minutes before the park closes, there first is Journey of Lights, an elaborate nighttime parade. The floats are based on various attractions and shows within the Chimelong Resort, but we notice that some inspiration had been drawn from Disney as well. The pirate ship float, for example, appeared to be a replica of the one we saw during Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights. I don’t consider this as a huge problem and I actually really liked Journey of Lights.

A little later, we claimed our spots for the nighttime show on the central lake. Information screens in the park referred to it as Call of the Ocean, but I’ve also read names as ‘Symphony of Ocean’ or ‘Ocean Defender’ on the internet. This slight uncertainty about the exact name doesn’t bother me, as the show makes an overwhelming impression regardless. If I had to describe Call of the Ocean in one word, I’d choose ‘excess’. Admittedly, a show combining fireworks, video mapping and fountains is far from unusual nowadays, but Chimelong has added a whole host of extra elements. The sky is lit by 200 drones and fireworks are launched from a dozen jet skis racing across the water’s surface. At one point, fireworks are even launched by performers wearing water jetpacks, something I hadn’t seen before. Although I couldn’t understand a word of the narration, Call of the Ocean was a spectacle that left me absolutely stunned. Please don’t leave Chimelong Ocean Kingdom before you’ve seen this show.

WORTH A VISIT?

We gazed at a spectacular fireworks display, we got drenched while riding the water coasters and we were kind of surprised by Chimelong’s rather old-fashioned way of making on-ride photos. But above all, we discovered a theme park that exudes grandeur. Ocean Kingdom is home to several stunning themed lands, wonderful animal exhibits and top-class entertainment. However, if you’re primarily a ride enthusiast, you’ll discover that Chimelong Ocean Kingdom doesn’t feel quite complete yet. Whilst fans of water rides are spoilt here, there’s plenty of room for improvement in the thrill department. Parrot Coaster had quite long queues during our visit, so the crowd seems ready for more thrills. In my opinion, an Intamin LSM Launch Coaster or a spectacular Mack roller coaster would be ideal additions to the existing lineup. I’d also welcome the arrival of a great new indoor attraction, as this region is notorious for its sweltering heat and intense periods of rain.

The Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort welcomes more than twice as many visitors as the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, situated 40 miles to the east. And although I believe the latter achieves a significantly higher level of quality, all the signs suggest that the gap in visitor numbers will only widen in the coming years. Ocean Kingdom and the adjacent Chimelong Spaceship are steadily being expanded with new attractions, and apparently plans are being made for entirely new theme parks and hotels. The Chimelong Resort in Zhuhai is therefore well on its way to becoming a global player in the theme park industry. Time will tell whether this place will ever become the Chinese alternative to Orlando and Yas Island.

This article reflects my personal experience at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom during a visit in April 2026.