10 Weird Tourist Attractions in China

Image by LosApos.com from Wikimedia

10 Weird Tourist Attractions in China

China, known to everybody as the “World’s Factory” is not only a huge state with thousands of plants and overpopulated cities, whose total population exceeds one billion people, but also one of the most interesting and various tourist centres.

The third largest country (after Russia and Canada), it has everything that can be interesting to a foreigner: architectural monuments of one of the most ancient civilizations, national parks with different climates and nature.

One of the most exciting countries in the world. If you’ve already seen China’s most famous attractions such as the Terracotta Warriors, the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall of China, why not dedicate some of your remaining time to seeing something new and unique?

There are tons of weird, wonderful and wacky things that you can see and do when on vacation in China.

When it comes to Unusual Tourist Attractions in China where do you even start!? – Here’s a pointer to the weird tourist attraction in China.

1.  Visit a faux-European Town

Replica of the Austrian town Hallstatt in China. Image by Hanno Bock from Wikimedia

Can’t afford a trip to Europe? Don’t worry, China’s got you covered. From a near-exact replica of Austria’s lakeside village of Hallstatt in Luoyang, Henan.

Visit an idyllic British town on the outskirts of Shanghai, China can’t get enough of bizarre knock-offs.

While most of the towns were designed as high-end housing developments to encourage migration out of the country’s packed city centres, the majority stand nearly empty save for young couples taking wedding photos.

2.   Guoliang Tunnel – Henan Province

Image by LosApos.com from Wikimedia

The Guoliang Tunnel is carved along the side of and through a mountain in China. The tunnel links the village of Guoliang to the outside through the Taihang Mountains which are situated in Huixian, Xinxiang, Henan Province of China.

Nested in the cliffs of the Taihang Mountains, the tunnel is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) long, 5 metres (16 ft) tall and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. It links Guoliang with the outside world.

There are over 30 “windows” of different shapes and sizes overlooking the gully that were used by the builders to remove rubble from the tunnel but now allow light into it. Some windows are round and some are square, and they range from dozens of meters long to standard-window-size.

3. Kingdom of Short People – Kunming

Image by w: Project Gutenberg eText 16846 from Wikimedia

Kingdom of the Little People This rather controversial theme park, found near Kunming, requires all employees to be shorter than 4 ft 3 inches.

Staff sing and dance for visitors, and act out fairy tales and ballets. It has been criticised for treating dwarfism as a humorous condition.

4.  Walk the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

Image by yoyolang from Pixabay

If your inner daredevil is calling, why not take a walk on the wild side and cross the world’s longest glass bottom bridge? The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge in the Zhangjiajie National Park opened several years ago and it’s rapidly becoming one of the most bizarre attractions in China.

It’s not an activity for the faint-hearted, the glass bridge hangs over the epic Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and it’s 430 meters in length.

It has been carefully constructed, and while it may look a bit scary, it’s still safe to cross. It’s entirely paved with glass, so you can see all the way down to the bottom of the canyon as it lies beneath your feet. Make sure your camera is fully charged, you’ll be wanting to take a lot of photos.

5.  Communist Utopia – Huaxi Village

Huaxi is known by locals as the ‘richest village in China,’ with residents claiming that they all have over $100,000 in their bank accounts. The village, located in Jiangsu province, was founded in 1961 by Wu Renbao in order to be a model of Chinese communism.

Each resident was gifted an identical house and car and given stock in the village in exchange for working seven days a week at one of the village’s many factories. If a resident leaves the city at any time, however, he or she forfeits all benefits.

Migrant workers, who reportedly make up roughly 95% of Huaxi’s workforce, do not get the same benefits as do the ‘real’ residents.

Whether this village is a utopia or a dystopia is for you to decide, but even if you would not want to live in Huaxi’s world, you can’t deny the odd charm of its  creepiness.

6. Visit Shanghai’s Former Jewish Ghetto 

Houses in the former Jewish ghetto, Shanghai, China image by gruntzooki from Wikimedia

It should be a better-known fact that during the Second World War Shanghai offered visas to Jewish refugees coming from Germany, Austria, and Poland.

This meant that thousands of Jewish refugees emigrated to China in search of safety. The downside is that many Jews were forced to relocate to a small area in Shanghai’s Hongkou district, where conditions were poor and overcrowding was rife.

Today, the ghetto is best known for its winding alleyways and the Ohel Moshe Synagogue and it’s a unique destination to explore on foot.

7.  Phallic Symbol at Danxia Mountain

Image by STW932 from Wikimedia

Located in the northern part of Guangdong, Mount Danxia is known for, well, looking like a giant sandstone penis.

The mountain range doesn’t get its fill of human anatomy with just that, though. There is also a rock opening that resembles a vulva, overhanging stones which resemble breasts and a rock meant to look like a sleeping maiden.

The rock formations all belong to the unusual Danxia landform category, which produces steep red cliffs and multicoloured pseudo-karsts.

8.   Window of the World Theme Park – Shenzen

Window of the World Fountain at Shenzhen. Image by Waynesun from Wikimedia

Window of the World This Shenzhen theme park features more than 100 reproductions of the most famous tourist attractions in the world.

So you can globetrot without ever leaving the People’s Republic. There’s a 108-metre-tall Eiffel Tower (one-third the real size), a mini Taj Mahal, a Statue of Liberty, and a Stone Henge, among others.

9. The Watermelon Museum – Beijing

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

The humble watermelon is known as China’s favourite summer fruit, and the Watermelon Museum in Beijing was built in dedication to it.

The Watermelon Museum is a 4,000-square meter museum that traces the history of the watermelon, from its birthplace in southern Africa to its popularity today in modern China.

The museum is futuristic, with quirky wax-made watermelon designs lining the walls and ceilings. The museum has a small garden area with real watermelons growing if futuristic waxy melons aren’t your thing. If you like big melons, this is the museum for you.

10.  Red Beach – Dawa County

Image by Wu Zhangfan ftom Wikimedia

China’s Red Beach is arguably one of the most unusual beaches in the world. The beach, which is in Dawa County in Panjin, is covered in swathes of the bright red Suaeda salsa plant.

As a result, from afar it looks as if the beach’s sand is bright red, and with the blue sea on the horizon, it’s a very unusual sight to see. You can swim at the beach and it’s definitely worth a photo for the ‘gram.