Workers push forward a Ferris wheel at a construction site. (Photo/Legal Evening News)
(ECNS) – Construction of a new Ferris wheel officially started at the Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park on Tuesday. The ride is expected to be in operation to celebrate China's National Day holiday, the Legal Evening News reported.
The Ferris wheel will be a landmark along the famous Chang'an Avenue, a major thoroughfare. It will have a total height of almost 100 meters, one and a half times the height of the ride that previously stood on the site, which stopped operation on April 30 last year after serving tourists for 29 years.
The replacement boasts 42 spherical sightseeing cabins, designed to hold six to eight people each, and can receive more than 7,000 tourists a day.
Custom-made by Zhejiang Juma Amusement Equipment Engineering Co, the wheel's design, construction and operation will all meet "top standards in China and be world class," the paper said.
Located in Shijingshan District, the park has vowed to accelerate construction of the Ferris wheel and put it into operation as part of activities to celebrate the park's 30th founding anniversary and China's National Day.
The park is now soliciting public opinion on the new wheel's name and will release a plan soon.
Beijing has two large outdated Ferris wheels, one located at Shijingshan Park and the other at the Beijing Amusement Park. The latter is 62 meters high and used to be the highest in Asia. The Beijing Amusement Park issued a notice of its closure five years ago.
