I took a side-trip from Beijing and visited Easter Island!
Just kidding, of course! But I was able to strike another thing off my "bucket list", the visit to a "miniature park" that I've always wanted to do since I read about the one in Brussels associated with the World's Fair there in 1958 (the World's Fair, not when I read about it). With over 100 acres and 1.5 million visitors per year, Beijing's World Park is worth a day out! Within those 100 acres, you can visit the US, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia.
The setting of the place is really beautifully done and well-manicured. The day I was there, a wedding shoot was being done:
Copenhagen's Little Mermaid above is full size, though scales vary wildly, and are identified in the plaque accompanying each locale. Behind her, though, you can see some rental boats, which are one of the ways you can get around World Park aside from walking:
To be honest, the camel doesn't leave "Egypt".
Entering England, you find Sean the Sheep and friends (presumably full-size) before finding Stonehenge (not full-size). Also full-size is Brussels' Mannekin-pis, which would look tiny if miniaturized (I've seen the real one, and it is underwhelming, size-wise):
Elsewhere in Europe, I found this famous bell tower about to fall over, and came to the rescue:
The Arc de Triomphe framing the Eiffel Tower at 1:4 scale:
And a model of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany:
Great care was taken in the construction of the models here. Check out some details:
That last site is Borobudur built in Indonesia in the ninth century at 1:10 scale, which has 505 buddhas perched on its nine floors.
There's lots to do, including a children's area:
And, finally, the world's largest (not full-size) religious building, Angkor Wat:
If you're interested, I visited the actual temples of Angkor, and you can see full-size buildings at this link or by clicking on Angkor in the label cloud. Similar shot:
Take the Fangshan line to Dabaotai station in southwest Beijing, exit A/B. It's a fifteen minute walk along the main road to your left.
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