This is the 7th Happy Valley to open in China and this is the first and only Happy Valley which is built in a valley!

Chong Qing is called the “mountain city’ because it is mountain everywhere (even the airport is in the mountains); so naturally, this theme park is built in the mountains as well.

This newest additional was opened only in July so everything is relatively new!

In order to get to where 80% of the rides are, you have go through 1 flight of stairs, and 2 long escalators.

Here are some of the must-dos at Chongqing Happy Valley:

Eye of Chongqing

One of the highlights of Chong Qing Happy Valley has to be the ferris wheel or affectionately, The Eye of Chongqing. Chongqing is famous of it’s night sky so that is why Chongqing is the only Happy Valley you can find a BIG ferris wheel. It reaches up to 120 meters (400 feet) high, equivalent to a 40-story building.

As the Ferris wheel turns to the top slowly, you can enjoy the beauty of the Jialing River and see the overall view of the theme park. I suggest you go there in the day (avoid a smoggy day) as well as night to experience different scenery of Chongqing.

Soaring Wings.

Roller coaster fans will love this! It is 1 kilometer long so the track spans a big area of the park! It has a 3 minutes running time so one of the longest I have seen in China for a ride like this. It is one of only two wide-wing roller coasters in China.

Wooden Coaster

Wooden Coaster is like the signature of all the Happy Valleys around China but what makes this so unique is that this ride is  built on a plateau. So to get to the ride, you have to take a lift. You get a wonderful view of the area because of the elevation (if you are still in the mood to look around!)

The first drop was really scary! The ride is long as well; it seems in China, they build everything bigger and longer!

Wildwater

Another signature of Happy Valley; I find this no different from the other Happy Valley though. Still fun….

Other Highlights

Like other Happy Valleys, there is always something unique in each one. For this, there is this area call Old Chongqing which showcase the scenery of Chongqing long time ago. There is also usually a stunt show telling the story of a famous person from the city. However, when I was there in October, the show is not ready yet.

Night Parade

Their day and night parade is nothing to shout about (especially you have seen Disney’s) BUT has improved a lot over the years!

In the past, you can see copyright characters like minions or angry bird in the parade. This time, I see that they used mostly original characters so this is a big step forward in making Happy Valley an international theme park.

My pet peeves

Unfortunately, there are still spelling mistakes on signs and rides! (Is it so difficult for them to get an English speaking person to vet before making the signs?) I guess this doesn’t affect the experience of guests visiting the theme park so maybe they are giving this a low priority to fix it.

Kids and family friendliness

The theme park has a very big children area with rides like carousel.

I asked a staff member if there are lifts to get from entrance down to the main areas and the answer is NO! So keep your baby prams at home. In other words, this theme park (and in fact this city) is not suitable for those on wheelchair.

Like other place of interest, senior citizen gets discounted entrance (bring your passport) and folks above 70 go in free! (I think it is a brilliant idea which Singapore should adopt too!)

How to Get to Chongqing Happy Valley?

It is pretty convenient to get there. You can take subway line 6 to Pingchang Station, use exit 3A and walk eastward for about 800 meters. (Walk towards the big ferris wheel, you can’t go wrong.)

Tickets are 200RMB for adults and 130 for children.

Summary

Because this theme park is so new, a number of the indoor rides are not opened yet. Having said that, the theme park is REALLY big so you may not finish ALL the rides even in 1 day!

But from what I can see, a lot of the theatre shows and rides are very very similar to other Happy Valleys.  They probably will get new content, but essentially, the experience are not very different. (Eg. The ride “Leaping over Chongqing” which boast rising seats and giant dome-screen will give you an overall view of the city. N.B. This ride is not opened yet when I was there. This is similar to the one in Shanghai.)

I was too hoping for newer technology to be showcased in this new Happy Valley; like rides related to VR but this was not the case. (This is the theme at IAPAA 2017 this year!)

Because they are still new, so the queues are relatively short.

My take is that some of the unique rides makes this park worth the time, but go only if there is a deal on the tickets (check their wechat page for promotions) or when there is an event like Halloween or their International Magic Festival!

Until then, maybe wait for more rides to be opened!

Score: 6.8/10