Beijing’s newest tourist attraction has just opened, and it promises to show families the big picture of the city’s history, with its miniature buildings and figures.
Little Big City Beijing features models of the city at different points in history, populated by six thousand tiny figures, including a ritual at the Temple of Heaven and a thrilling attack on the Great Wall by Mongol raiders. Visitors can put themselves in the middle of the displays via perspex tubes, and the attraction also uses holograms, optical illusions and projection mapping to bring the past to vivid life. And the exhibition comes right up to date with a recreation of 2015’s military parade.
The attraction is the second “Little Big City”, following on from the success of a similar display in Berlin. The brand was created by British entertainment company Merlin, which also owns famous names like Sea Life, Madame Tussauds, and Legoland. Locating the attraction in Qianmen, where there is already a branch of Madame Tussauds waxworks, is part of the company’s strategy of clustering its smaller attractions in one area, so that visitors can visit more than one in the same day, and buy discounted tickets. Talks are also underway to establish a Legoland Theme Park in Beijing.
Little Big City Beijing
All ages. 10am-8.30pm, last entrance 8pm. 26 Qianmendajie, Dongcheng District (Near exit C, Qianmen Station, Line 2.) www.littlebigcity.cn/beijing. 东城区前门大街26号
Photos: www.littlebigcity.cn/beijing
