Two dark rides in the newly completed “Journey to the West” Chinese theme park in Huai’an city, Jiangsu province features RGB pure laser projectors, 1DLP laser projectors, content management and AV-over-IP solutions by Christie Digital in order to bring their stories to life.
These indoor amusement rides are based on famous episodes in “Journey to the West,” a 16th century novel about the legendary pilgrimage of Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang and his three disciples — Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — who traveled to the Western Regions in search of sacred texts. Among them is “Battle with the White Bone Spirit,” where a shapeshifting demoness called the White Bone Spirit made three attempts to deter the quartet from their mission, only to be subdued by Sun, a legendary mythical warrior best known as the Monkey King.
Guests seated in suspended dynamic seats become part of this epic battle of wits and magic as the Monkey King thwarts attacks and evil spells conjured by the White Bone Spirit. The action takes place on numerous screens illuminated by nine Christie RGB pure laser projectors and 21 Christie 1DLP laser projectors, while AV distribution and processing is accomplished by nine sets of Christie Terra transmitters and receivers. They were installed and commissioned by Christie’s longstanding partner Wincomn Technology, which is responsible for a number of large-scale projects across China.
“We are honored to be part of this breathtaking dark ride based on one of the most beloved episodes of ‘Journey to the West,’ which impeccably extols the virtues of bravery, devotion, intelligence and persistence in the face of danger,” said Tony Chen, general manager, Wincomn Technology.
All 30 projectors are strategically fitted across the 11,000 square meter (118,403 square feet) facility to light up an array of large surfaces that include dome-shaped screens, holographic displays and curved screens. Visual contents are seamlessly transmitted by Christie Terra — a flexible SDVoE (Software Defined Video over Ethernet) based solution — to any of the projectors on-site via 10G Ethernet.
Christie’s laser projection and content management solutions are also deployed in two other attractions, namely “The Cave of Silken Web” and “Borrowing the Plantain Fan.” The former is a dark ride powered by laser projectors installed by Wincomn Technology to light up five large curved screens, while visuals in “Borrowing the Plantain Fan” are achieved using projectors, along with Christie Pandoras Box Players and Pandoras Box Manager installed by Shanghai Hehao Technology Co. Ltd.
April Qin, sales director for China, Enterprise, Christie, commented, “The ‘Journey to the West’ theme park is a dream come true for fans of this novel, which is regarded as one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. We are delighted that our award-winning D4K40-RGB pure laser projectors, together with the dependable HS and GS laser projectors, as well as Pandoras Box and Terra SDVoE solutions are key to the success of these highly anticipated attractions that has since elevated the visitor experience with awe-inspiring visuals.”
