Space invaders

Urban explorer Zhao Yang wears a gas mask as he delves into the abandoned No.81 house, situated right on busy Chaoyangmennei Dajie. Photo: Li Hao/GT

The tall, imposing Cinderella tower that served as a beacon for Beijing's 120-acre Wonderland Amusement Park in Changping district was finally demolished last month, having languished, abandoned and unloved for 15 years.

But to a certain demographic, the news was met with sadness. The derelict site had become a popular destination for urban explorers in the city as an eerie treasure trove of adventure and discovery.

"Urban exploration is an extremely exciting activity," says Qian Ting (online user name), a six-year urban explorer and founder of the China Exploration Forum, which connects local explorers who visit abandoned sites around the capital in their spare time.

"It also offers an inside look into a city's development," he tells Metropolitan.

A community of explorers

By definition, the term urban exploration, Urbex or UE is the practice of infiltrating abandoned man-made structures in urban areas.

China's fast-paced industrial age means that dilapidated buildings and vacant, forgotten structures like Wonderland are an inevitable by-product of its rapid development.

Cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province have already experienced an emergence of localized urban exploration groups.

In Beijing, the hobby seems to be on the rise, too. Speaking with the Global Times in May last year, Liu Nan, 34, a Beijinger and prominent member of the China Urban Exploration Forum, says that up until that point, the group had around 70 members. The forum now boasts an impressive 4,263 members with new subscribers joining almost daily.

In February 2012, the Beijing Supernatural City Exploration established itself as a group, organizing outings every 10 days to mysterious places throughout the city. "Unknown world, unknown future," declares the group's motto. The group now has more than 100 dedicated online followers.

Exploring abandoned urban landscapes in the capital can be done in a group setting or alone. It's a low-cost way to inject a little adventure into a weekend afternoon.

Enter if you dare

On any day of the week, Chaoyangmennei Dajie, in Dongcheng district, is just another unassuming street in Beijing. Cars, bicycles, rickshaws and pedestrians make up the bustling concrete strip it is today.

But sitting quietly detached from the swirling modern life that surrounds it is building No.81 - Beijing's most notorious haunted house. Unless you knew it was there to begin with, you could walk right by it. Wild overgrowth pierces through and above the third story windows, creating a unique but creepy picture, like a scene out of a Tim Burton movie.

According to Metropolitan's research, the two multilevel, dilapidated buildings that occupy the compound at No.81 were built in the early 1900s.