One of the things that makes this news story notable is that it comes out of China not America. Usually we only hear about China when it’s about politics or trade. However, the burgeoning middle class in China is becoming more westernised every year and, if you don’t believe it, just read this story.
In this “believe it or not” story that you would think came straight out of America, a Sichuanese entrepreneur, who made his money investing in Chinese real estate, has opened a theme park featuring not Mickey Mouse but dwarfs.
There is nothing small about the plans Chen Ming has for this Lilliputian land of the little people. He is investing $115 million to create this miniature world set amid 13,000 acres of rolling hills and peaceful lakes in southern China’s YunnanProvince.
“It will be like a fairy tale,” Mr. Chen said. But the site is far from complete.
To date itmainly consists of a performance hall that looks like the stump of a prehistoric tree, a village comprising thirty three Dr. Seuss-style cottages with crooked chimneys where kingdom residents pretend to live and specially equipped dormitories where they actually reside.
The park, which officially opened to the public in September 2009 but crowned it’s “king” as part of a soft launch on July 1st, employs 108 dwarfs, who gather on an artificial hillside twice a day to sing and dance for tourists. The fantasy world includes a health department and even its own foreign ministry.
Now as we alluded to above, this isn't a Chinese first, in fact a theme park dedicated to little people appeared in the early 1900s in America. “Dreamland” in New York’s Coney Island was the home of a 'Lilliputia' attraction before the whole park burned to the ground in 1911.
The big question is “Does this theme park exploit little people or provide a worthwhile, well paid alternative to life in the big smoke?” (“Big smoke” is Australian bush slang meaning cities). There are many people prepared to criticise Mr Chen, whom we are sure is not doing this out of any noble idea of helping an under privileged minority, but what do the dwarfs themselves think?
While discussing the plight of the average dwarf in China, Xiaoxiao, a cherubic young woman of 20 from the city of Harbin in north-western China, says “Probably half of the park's occupants had considered suicide before starting their current jobs. For many people like us, it's difficult to find work.” she said. "We're looked at as being strange in the outside world, but here it's quite good."
She could be in almost any city in the world when she describes her previous experiences in the “normal” world. In the Dwarf park the employee dwarfs earn 1,000 yuan per month (approx $158 AUD) plus free room and board. That’s better remuneration than a university graduate in nearby Kunming can expect to be paid.
Lin Sen, a young man from Jiangxi province who has been living at the park for the last nine months, said that overall, life in the park was better for all the dwarf residents, who also receive dance training and English lessons.
"It's really pretty good here," Lin said. "There isn't much for us to do in the outside world work wise other than bar or promotional work which is generally humiliating."
There are strict rules in place about who can live and work in the park - all inhabitants must measure under 4ft 3 inches tall. It is a self sufficient community with a police force and fire brigade serving the inhabitants.
"As small people we are used to being pushed around and exploited by big people. But here there aren't any big people and everything we do is for us," said spokesman Fu Tien.
One draw back of growing up in a world where dwarves are regularly picked on or harassed is that many of the dwarves are skilled fighters and there have been occurrences of fighting among employees and also one instance in which a group of dwarves were involved in an altercation with non-dwarves in the nearby town of Heiqiaomu. The fight was so bloody that one of the park's dwarves ended up losing his job.
But apart from that, most of the dwarves seem content and don’t feel exploited although realistically, there is probably an element of that in the concept. The park has plans to expand the community to over 800 but is having difficulty attracting enough dwarves, mainly through lack of publicity, says the non dwarf park manager, Wu Wei.
The park also aims to attract dwarves from beyond China's borders.
"We welcome all dwarves from overseas to come live here," she said.
Unfortunately, this time I’m too tall, and that’s a first.
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