Even in China, you are not safe from the lurking ghosts and macabre sights of Halloween. In fact, like many things here, Halloween can be taken to the next level: no sweets and no little ones dressed as cute Disney icons. Instead, the costumes are more extreme and behind every corner could be someone…or something…waiting for you!
This may not be the case everywhere in China, but it was certainly the experience at Happy Valley Theme Park in Shenzhen. On Tuesday, October 29, a group of Chinese and international students from Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKUSZ) attended one of Happy Valley’s Halloween Nights.
The Halloween Nights at Happy Valley are held each year from mid-October to mid-November. Thousands of young people fill the park each night starting 6pm. Many guests dress up in costume. But not having a costume is no problem. The free face-painting service at the entrance to the park ensures everyone can immediately receive some gruesome makeup and get into the mood of the holiday.
Once the sun has fully set, the monsters, ghosts, and creatures from the underworld come out into the night. They stroll among the guests, occasionally preying on the perfect moment to scare you, occasionally kindly posing for a photo.
The theme park is completely transformed for the Halloween Nights. While many rides are not running, ride areas are converted into haunted houses to walk through. The entire park is elaborately decorated. Special theatrical and musical performances occur every night. And there are even special Halloween food and drink options.
All the performances, haunted houses, rides, games, and other things to enjoy are more than you can see in just one visit. So, if you can survive the horrors of the night, you might be interested in going back to test your luck once again.
What scared us the most?!!
“Walking through an ancient Chinese town, but all inhabitants have been turned into skeletons or ghosts was the most impressive and scariest moment of the event.”
– Le Nguyen, Belgium, PHBS exchange
“We braved ourselves for one of the haunted houses. Then it wasn’t scary because we kept going past mechanical ghosts. But right when we relaxed ourselves too much, a real ghost actor hiding in the dark suddenly jumped out! Ahhh!”
Chen Tiancai, China, SCBB
“Guy with the chainsaw, who was chasing people, and the saw was not a fake one!”
– Masha Semenenko, Ukraine, PHBS exchange
“I’m not a person that gets scared easily, I was more scared of Linh shouting next to my ear than the zombies”
– Ilkim Ertugrul, Turkey, PHBS Management
“When a guy in bloody tux and cape crept up behind me and screamed into my face as soon as I turned around. I can still see his creepy, Annabelle-make up look when I close my eyes!”
-Linh Dong, Vietnam, PHBS Management
“The monsters in the park were not truly scary, at least for me, but sometimes they were well hidden. One of them got me off guard once and it was scary-fun!”
Adriana G H Cuschnir, Brazil, PHBS exchange
By Nathan Faber
The Nanyan Observer 