Goodbye Great Wall: Hello Great Wheel?

It is an enormous wheel that moves visitors around a central axis to great heights, but please don't call the Great Beijing Wheel – construction for which began last week – a Ferris wheel. That's the name of the American engineer who pioneered the big wheels found in homeland amusement parks. No — this is an "observation wheel," say its builders, or an Iconic Viewing Platform (IVP), a name given to attractions in cities around the world that are meant to show off a city's skyline while defining it too. Think Shanghai's Jinmao Tower, Paris' Eiffel, and the London Eye — all of which will be dwarfed, in true China style, by Beijing's newest tall rotating attraction. Whatever you want to call it, when it opens in 2009, it will be the largest of its kind in the world.

"It is a human desire to experience one's surroundings from above," says Stephan Matter, CEO of Great Wheel Corporation, explaining why he thinks Beijingers will be drawn to his company's engineering marvel (they have also designed the Singapore Flyer). "The real attraction is the view and only secondarily the ride. We offer a unique experience to get a 360˚ view of the city." Located on the north-eastern side of Chaoyang Park, the 208-meter high wheel will take visitors for a smooth loop in about 30 minutes, promising an impressive view of the city on the chance it's a clear day. Each of the wheel's capsules, equipped with multi-lingual information screens, will be able to hold up to 40 people, each of whom will need to shell out RMB100 for a ride. A bevy of food, beverage and shopping options will surround the bottom of the wheel. Though Xinhua seems to price the project at US$99 million, Reuters offers a more substantial US$292 million as the total cost. A similar wheel that was scheduled to begin construction in Chaoyang Park in 2003 was estimated to cost US$132 million. Just remember – it's not just a Ferris wheel we're getting. It's an annular, gravity-defying panoramic experience.

A version of this post appeared in the June issue of tbjhome.

Links and Sources:
Answers.com: Ferris Wheel
Singapore Flyer
Xinhua: Beijing starts construction of world's largest Ferris wheel
Reuters: Great Wall Old Hat As Beijing Eyes Great Wheel
tbjhome