With its official inauguration ceremony on March 29, the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in Zhuhai, China, was awarded five Guinness World Records:
• World’s Largest Aquarium—There are seven themed areas inside the theme park, each representing a part of the ocean, with a total water volume of 48.75 million litres (10.72 million UK gal; 12.87 million US gal) of salt and fresh water, making it the world’s largest aquarium.
• World’s Largest Aquarium Tank—The tank itself has a volume of 22.7 million litres (4.99 million UK gal; 5.99 million US gal) of salt water, making it the world’s largest aquarium tank.
• World’s Largest Underwater Viewing Dome—The Whale Shark Exhibit tank also features the largest underwater viewing dome, pictured below, which has an external diameter of 12 m (39 ft 4.44 in) and is placed over a cylindrical structure built inside the tank.
• World’s Largest Acrylic Panel—Situated in the Ocean Wonders area of the park, the Whale Shark Exhibit tank features the world’s largest acrylic panel which measures a massive 39.6 m (129 ft 11.05 in) by 8.3 m (27 ft 2.77 in).
• World’s Largest Aquarium Window—The massive acrylic panel also sets a record for largest aquarium window.
St. Louis-based consulting and design firm PGAV Destinations served as the product strategist, master planner, lead design consultant, and lead designer of the 125-acre attraction on Henquin Island, near Macao.
Ocean Kingdom took three years to construct, and features seven unique areas, each themed around a different part of the world’s waterways.
“Ocean Kingdom is world-class, delivering well-planned guest experiences, focusing on comfort and the quality of the experience,” says Al Cross, PGAV Destinations VP and project lead. “It has a really unique approach that blurs the lines between thrilling rides, great shows, and amazing animals–in fact, it’s one of the best efforts in Asia to create viewing interactions between people and animals.”
Ocean Kingdom is home to thousands of animals and boasts numerous rides, attractions, retail, and dining choices. More projects will come online at the park throughout 2014.
“Breaking any world record is amazing, but to become the world’s largest aquarium requires phenomenal creative vision and immense engineering efforts,” says Rowan Simons, president of Guinness World Records Greater China. “The result is an incredible attraction experience and Guinness World Records is delighted to recognize the five specific world-beating achievements that make it so special.”
The brand new theme park boasts Asia’s first winged coaster, Flying over the Rainforest, and numerous other incredible attractions such as the massive and immersive digital manta ray entry tunnel; the towering whale shark sculpture at the center of Ocean Park; and a wholly unique attraction which combines a roller coaster and a live polar bear exhibit.
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom serves as PGAV Destination’s first, full theme park design in Asia, having previously master-planned and designed the Grand Aquarium at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park and an attraction at the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses in Xi’an, China. PGAV Destinations is also the master planner and designer of the world’s third-largest aquarium, The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA.
Rendering of dome
Rendering of park
About PGAV Destinations
PGAV Destinations is a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations. Now in its fifth decade, the practice has evolved to become the ideal destination-consulting partner, skilled at developing growth-oriented master plans and translating those plans into successful projects. No other firm offers such an integrated approach to destination planning.
PGAV’s key clients include industry leaders such as Delaware North Companies, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, the Biltmore Companies, Bass Pro Shops, Ameristar Casinos, Universal Studios, The Gettysburg Foundation, the St. Louis Zoo, and many others. Recent assignments include planning and design at many of the world’s “must see” destinations, including the Grand Canyon, Biltmore Estate, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the Georgia Aquarium, the Hoover Dam, and SeaWorld Adventure Parks. www.PGAVDestinations.com
About Guangdong Chimelong Group Co. Ltd.
As one of China’s most excellent, large enterprise groups and Guangdong Province’s leading enterprise in tourism industry, Guangdong Chimelong Group Co. Ltd. dedicates all efforts to creating world-class tourist resorts, which are specialized in theme parks, luxury hotels, business conventions, high-end restaurants, and leisure entertainment. Chimelong Group currently manages two large resort areas, Guangzhou Chimelong and Zhuhai Chimelong.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Colonnade fixes setback problem in Brooklyn condo project
The New York firm Scarano Architects was brought in by the developers of Olive Park condominiums in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to bring the facility up to code after frame out was completed. The architects designed colonnades along the building's perimeter to create the 15-foot setback required by the New York City Planning Commission.
| Aug 11, 2010
Wisconsin becomes the first state to require BIM on public projects
As of July 1, the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities will require all state projects with a total budget of $5 million or more and all new construction with a budget of $2.5 million or more to have their designs begin with a Building Information Model. The new guidelines and standards require A/E services in a design-bid-build project delivery format to use BIM and 3D software from initial ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Opening night close for Kent State performing arts center
The curtain opens on the Tuscarawas Performing Arts Center at Kent State University in early 2010, giving the New Philadelphia, Ohio, school a 1,100-seat multipurpose theater. The team of Legat & Kingscott of Columbus, Ohio, and Schorr Architects of Dublin, Ohio, designed the 50,000-sf facility with a curving metal and glass façade to create a sense of movement and activity.
| Aug 11, 2010
Residence hall designed specifically for freshman
Hardin Construction Company's Austin, Texas, office is serving as GC for the $50 million freshman housing complex at the University of Houston. Designed by HADP Architecture, Austin, the seven-story, 300,000-sf facility will be located on the university's central campus and have 1,172 beds, residential advisor offices, a social lounge, a computer lab, multipurpose rooms, a fitness center, and a...
| Aug 11, 2010
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury Hotel required faceted design
Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Three Schools checking into L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel site
Pasadena-based Gonzalez Goodale Architects is designing three new schools for Los Angeles Unified School District's Central Wilshire District. The $400 million campus, located on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, will house a K-5 elementary school, a middle school, a high school, a shared recreation facility (including soccer field, 25-meter swimming pool, two gymnasiums), and a new publ...
| Aug 11, 2010
New Jersey's high-tech landscaping facility
Designed to enhance the use of science and technology in Bergen County Special Services' landscaping programs, the new single-story facility at the technical school's Paramus campus will have 7,950 sf of classroom space, a 1,000-sf greenhouse (able to replicate different environments, such as rainforest, desert, forest, and tundra), and 5,000 sf of outside landscaping and gardening space.
