Hualien Yuan Yung Ocean Park is Taiwan’s first international-standard marine-themed amusement park, centered on ecological conservation. Through games and entertainment, it brings visitors closer to ocean culture. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, this year the park will combine newborn marine mammal babies, the aquarium, the marine mammal pavilion, and both physical exhibits and virtual reality equipment to offer visitors a unique eco-tourism experience.
Visitors to the ocean park shouldn’t miss the aquarium within the park, which showcases the fascinating features and evolutionary traits of various marine species, from the tropical water ecosystem at the entrance to the deep-sea world of the final ocean tank. This year, the aquarium has also integrated virtual reality (AR) with special habitat tanks, allowing guests not only to observe up close but also to use their mobile phones or other devices to see the unique ecological behaviors of featured creatures in their specific environments. Themed games can also be downloaded, allowing children to learn about ecological conservation through play even after returning home.
Unlike other amusement parks that focus mainly on mechanical rides, Hualien Yuan Yung Ocean Park centers on themed experiential activities. With four major theme shows, visitors can enjoy the marine ecosystem, local culture, and international flair all within the park. The newly launched dolphin theater performance “Leap of the Waves,” for example, stars a group of marine sprites (dolphins) protected by indigenous communities in Hualien’s “Huilan Bay.” It incorporates local indigenous legends, such as the story of “leaping waves,” to present, in an educational yet entertaining way, a grand battle where the marine sprites fight to protect the ocean from environmental pollution.
The Crystal Castle show “Wonderful Ocean Song and Dance Spectacular” is a fairytale-style theatrical performance created entirely by Hualien Yuan Yung Ocean Park—from the script and costumes to the music and props. In addition to specially built underwater palace sets and performances by professional Russian dancers and acrobats, the show also features a live band. The performance naturally includes interactions between clowns and the audience, allowing parents and children to enjoy and reminisce about the innocence and dreams of childhood together.