Since its opening in 1977, Ocean Park has mushroomed into a vast complex of attractions overlooking the sea on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. Foremost among these are an amusement park, oceanarium and open-air theme park, an ensemble which together attracts well over three million visitors a year. It's a great place to visit with children, offering enough to keep you occupied for at least a day.
You start at Lowland, offering many attractions, including parks, gardens, a butterfly house and an adventure playground. From here an exhilarating cable-car ride takes you over the sea to the Headland section, where you'll find many of the amusement park rides (notably the electrifying Crazy Galleon and 80kph Dragon roller-coaster), the Ocean Theatre (home to performing dolphins, killer whales and high divers), a large aquarium, a seal and penguin sanctuary, and the 72m Ocean Park Tower (which offers superb views of the coast). From here you ride down the world's longest outdoor escalator to the Middle Kingdom, a theme park which employs arts, crafts, live theatre, opera performances and other displays designed to provide a 'living history of Chinese culture'. Adjacent to Ocean Park and under the same management lies the equally popular Water World, a fabulous collection of giant water slides, chutes, swimming pools and other watery attractions.
