Ethnic theme parks are theme parks based on traditions and cultures of a multitude of ethnic groups. These parks provide a glimpse into the cultures and geographic areas of different countries around the world. A few examples of these parks are the
Window of the World
Window of the World () is a theme park located in the western part of the city of Shenzhen in the People's Republic of China. It has about 130 reproductions of some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world squeezed into 48 hectares ...
in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
,
Happy Valley Beijing
Happy Valley Beijing () is an amusement park in Beijing, built and operated by Beijing OCT (), which is part of the Overseas Chinese Town Company. The park is located in Chaoyang District in eastern Beijing. Opened in July 2006, it is the seco ...
, and the Bogoslovka Estate (just outside of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in
Vsevolozhsky District
Vsevolozhsky District (russian: Все́воложский райо́н) is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #17-oz district (raion), one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the central northwestern ...
), all of which attract tourists from all over the world.
The layouts usually allocate a separate “village” to each
ethnic group, allowing tourists and other visitors to absorb the individuality they portray. Heritage and history are simulated through elaborate costumes and roles. Visitors also have an opportunity to participate in some of the cultural practices of these ethnic groups and to engage in discussion.
[Gordon, Tamara, and Bruce Caron. ''Global Villages: The Globalization of Ethnic Display''. New York: Tourist Gaze Productions, 2005.]
The precise infrastructure of each park is different, but each aims to provide a display case for as many cultural identities as possible. At ''Window of the World'', for example, national heritage is classified into three categories: primitive song and dance, professional modifications, and further creative modifications.
Controversies
A debate over authenticity has been sparked in light of the fact that several employees at some ethno-parks represent nationalities separate from their own individual heritages. At one park, the
Wa people
The Wa people ( Wa: Vāx; my, ဝလူမျိုး, ; ; th, ว้า) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part of Shan State and the eastern part of Kachin State, near and along Myan ...
, for instance, play the roles of African ethnic groups, while
Native Americans are portrayed by ethnic
Mongolians
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
.
This may be an example of
Cultural appropriation.
Disputes also linger over the degree to which governments and corporations seek to mask and embellish what they wish within the walls of the parks. In the view of Thomas Mullaney, a Stanford University historian, in China, these parks are highly politicized venues which seek to shape the popular view of China as a multiethnic state.
References
Amusement parks
Ethnicity
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