OCT East is a theme park that was opened in summer of 2007, but it's a bit hard to place it into a certain category. OCT is one of the biggest real estate companies in Shenzhen. They somehow managed to buy an area of about 9 square kilometers in the east of Shenzhen, close to DaMeiSha beach. The main attactions are the three major theme parks: Knight Valley, Tea Stream Valley and Wind Valley. There are lots of houses built in Swiss style, there is a tea area and there are performances during certain times of the day. There is also a huge golf course, hotels and real estate.

Currently (early 2009) there are two major attractions:

• Tea Stream Valley is a combination of western and eastern cultures, has been constructed based on many fundamental elements such as tea, Buddhism, follower and bamboo etc.
• Wind Valley features Olympic and golf sports, the Interlaken OCT Hotel, The Interlaken Spa, and the Tea Show.

The second phase of the project, Knight Valley, will open in 2008 according to the website, but I didnt see it during my visit . This park will distinguish itself by forests, rivers and outer space, Red Wine Town and the Statue of Guanyin Sitting in a Lotus Throne.

We went to OCT East with our department at work. We bought tickets at some huge ticket office at the bottom of the mountain and then took some a free car to the funicular station. That train took us to the top of the mountain via a very steep road. From the train you get a good view of Dameisha beach. Afterwards we visited the Interlaken area with lots of Swiss-style houses and some performances. In this area you'll also find lots of restaurants (including KFC) and the Interlaken hotel. Many couples come here to take wedding photos and we saw several of them during our visit.

After the Interlaken area, we walked to the tea area, but there is not so much to see there. The lion dance performance is supposed to be good, but we missed it unfortunately (only at certain times of the day). After the tea area, we walked down towards the botanical garden via some interesting bridges and then it was already 17 o'clock and we had to leave. There is also a mono-rail train that runs through the park.

Verdict 7.5/10

It's a big theme park, and there is quite a lot to see. Make sure you arrive early, so you got enough time to see everything and view the performances. Currently several parts of the park - including more exciting rides - are not open yet. Would I go there again? Probably not, but it was fun going there once. We only had to wait one time, to get into the train, but besides that, no queues at all.

How to get there?

It's a bit far away and most people seemed to go there with travel groups. You can take a bus to Dameisha though and walk to OCT East from there. 

website: octeast.com

opening times: 9:30-18:30, or 9:00-19:00 if it is a holiday or a festival.

tickets:  120-150RMB, tea show separate

Some photos:

 

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justin  - This place is awesome!     |216.113.168.xxx |2009-11-16 11:58:40 As an american I had no idea of the scale and expense chinese businesses will go to to attract people. I just spend the last two nights in the aqua hotel (it's inside a waterfall, totally spectacular, very very very ritzy with lcd pictures and water effect dj projectors everywhere) and I cannot understand how this place can stay in business with the upkeep expenses it must have. The rides at the top of knight valley are more hairraising than anything in disneyland, views more spectacular than the grand canyon, and price on par with a decent stay in vegas. Half of the place is a golf course that was almost desolate of people, and when i went there early in the week I was the only one on the slides in the indoor waterpark. Oh, and the nightly show was an extravaganza that left me speechless... as aweinspiring as most cirque shows I've seen. Oh... and that ride in the above pictures is a water log ride that goes through the waterfall hotel and has several drops... one of which was about 90 feet. I pissed my pants, but no one noticed because I was already soaked from the ride! The enclosed botanical garden in the valley is the size of a walmart, and left me speechless with it's diversity. I could have stayed in there for the rest of my life. Notes: Since it was early in the week not all the amenities were on, they only turn on all the effects and pull out all the stops from thursday on when the weekend rush starts. If you want masses of people and see the chinese mass madness with all it's pizass come on a weekend. If you want borderline desolate tranquility come early in the week and ride all day. Gripes: It shuts down at 6pm, so NO nightlife whatsoever. The "Beer" house stays open to 10 and has the BEST locally brewed dark beer I've ever had, but without fun new faces to drink with, partying there seams kinda pathetic. Bring a friend with you, or better yet bring 20 and own the town. It's china so things are different. The customer is NOT alw... Reply

Thijs  - Thanks     |219.133.62.xxx |2009-11-16 12:42:28 thanks for your enthusiastic reply! Perhaps I should go back some time, since more parts of the park appear finished now Reply

Dave   |219.134.125.xxx |2012-02-11 21:15:09 Amazing theme park but there were no English maps. Western food is very rare and dont expect even tissue or soap or same service you get at ome. Its way outside the city and difficult to find taxis. Hotels in resort are great but be careful of out of resort hotels. Reply

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