Dinosaurs in China

I was getting really tired of staying in my small, boring city (small is a relative term in this situation because Zhangjigang has a population of over a million people) so a few weekends ago we took a bus an hour away to Changzhou so we could finally see the famous dinosaurs in China. We braved the freezing weather and left Hannah behind to work on her art. I was determined to finally have some fun doing something other than walking the streets of Zhangjiagang and who would have ever thought I could see some dinosaur fossils in China. 

And while there really isn't much to say about this dinosaur themed play arena we did have a fun time and I especially enjoyed all the Christmas music being played over the loud speakers on the sidewalks. They even played "Joy to the World" but shhh don't tell them it's about Jesus. The government may come after you.

You could tell it was a Chinese them park by the questionable statues of dinosaur warriors and random attractions like King Kong...I didn't know he was friends with the dinosaurs. Also I learned in the museum that we evolved from dinosaurs. Thank you China for the real lesson on evolution.The overwhelming amount of cheesiness made the day that much more entertaining.

Everyone in the last two photos is thinking, "Hey there's a foreigner. Oh wow! There's three of them!"

 Dinosaurs and Christmas: a match made in Chinese heaven. 

They even have a water park during the summer time. For an unexplained reason they had the water running on all the slides even though we were all bundled up and.by nature the people are overly cautious about getting sick. Sometimes (most of the time) I don't understand why the Chinese do things the way they do.

The museum also had really creepy mannequins that looked like they were going to come alive at any moment and attack. I will admit that mannequins have and always will creep me out.

If you don't feel like walking around the park (it doesn't even compare in scale to any of the Disney parks) then you can rent a scooter to drive you around everywhere!

Going on the roller coaster was the first thing I wanted to do and it was conveniently at the beginning of the park. I got overly cocky while waiting in line and figured that the people in China made the ride too short (I timed it to be 30 seconds). I said something to the effect of, "I guess they just couldn't handle a longer ride." Being born and raised in the theme park capital of America I thought I experienced all the terrifying thrills that coasters offered. Nothing was new to me and I could take it. Although I wasn't scared, I was curious to see what it would be like to sit in a seat that actually rotated 360 degrees. It wasn't something I had ever seen or experienced but I jumped to the conclusion that it wasn't anything that I couldn't take. 

I sat down and buckled myself in. I got a little shoulder massage from the young man checking my straps and I was off. The 30 seconds felt much longer. I was upside down and right side up in a matter of seconds as my seat spun full circle while going at what seemed to be the fastest ride ever. It was exhilarating and I had a blast! Afterward, I humbly admitted that even I, the self proclaimed coaster-conqueror,  could not have handled anything longer than that. Dinoconda is officially my favorite roller coaster in the world. I would pay the overpriced entry fee of 200 RMB to just ride it again and again.

 The wheel they're sitting on spins super fast and everyone sits around the center trying to not fly off as the purpose in control speeds it up and slows it down. I flew off the first time it sped up (aong with every other girl). But these three beat the machine. They were victorious! And then we posed with random creatures.

The great thing about living in China is that escaping a boring weekend is just a short bus ride away. When it's warmer we'll visit Changzhou again because this city has a second theme park: "World Joyland" which is rumored to have a Blizzard theme with "World of Warcraft" and "Starcraft"  areas. Who doesn't love a good Chinese knock-off?