2 weeks ago
China's Young People Pay to Experience Simulated Typhoons and Floods
In China, some grown-ups and young people pay money to pretend they are in a typhoon or a flood.
This is part of something called 'dark tourism,' which means visiting places or trying activities linked to disasters and difficult times.
One of these places is called Lvxing Base, in the city of Hangzhou.
It is the first big pretend-disaster centre in China.
Adults pay about 135 US dollars to try a pretend typhoon, heavy rain, and a flash flood.
The centre can blow winds as fast as 165 kilometres per hour.
Visitors wear special suits and helmets, and helpers stay close to keep everyone safe.
One visitor named Xiaofei said the water rose to her neck and it felt so real that she was scared.
More than 160,000 people have visited since the centre opened.
Some people think this teaches useful survival skills, but others worry it is not respectful to people who really lived through floods and lost their homes.
Adults pay 899 yuan (about US$135) at Lvxing Base in Hangzhou to experience simulated typhoons, heavy rain and flash floods, according to a South China Morning Post report.
Lvxing Base, described as China's first immersive natural disaster simulation centre, opened in September 2024 and has recorded more than 160,000 visits.
The centre can generate winds of up to 165 km/h, and a family package of nearly 5,000 yuan adds wilderness survival and water rescue training.
Participant Xiaofei said the flood simulation felt so real she forgot she was merely 'experiencing' a disaster, and strangers in her group helped each other during the exercise.
The trend has sparked an ethical debate: some say the centres teach valuable survival skills, while others argue paid disaster experiences trivialise the suffering of real flood survivors who lost their homes.
- Who
- Young people and tourists, such as participant Xiaofei, who pay to experience simulated disasters at Lvxing Base in Hangzhou; the centre was founded by adventurers Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong, who have entered Chernobyl's radiation zone, crossed war zones in the Middle East and sailed an icebreaker to Antarctica.
- What
- Adults paying to experience simulated typhoons, heavy rain and flash floods as part of China's growing 'dark tourism' trend.
- Where
- At Lvxing Base in Hangzhou, eastern China.
- When
- Since Lvxing Base opened in September 2024; the centre has recorded more than 160,000 visits.
- Why
- Social work professor Zhang Yong of Wuhan University of Science and Technology says proving one can cope with a crisis attracts people facing intense competition and uncertain outcomes; the co-founders also want a systematic survival education programme that encourages greater respect for nature.
Supporters: Educational Value
Critics: Trivialising Tragedy
Do paid disaster simulations educate or exploit?
Supporters: Educational Value
They are a valuable way to teach survival skills, and it is positive that more young people are willing to pay to 'suffer' and learn safety techniques.
Critics: Trivialising Tragedy
Turning disasters into paid experiences could trivialise the suffering of people who actually survived floods and lost their homes.
Commercial simulators vs. real memorial sites
Supporters: Educational Value
Controlled simulations let people confront a crisis that feels dangerous while remaining safe and overcomeable, which can be especially attractive in a competitive everyday life.
Critics: Trivialising Tragedy
Free memorials tied to real tragedies, such as the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan and the Nanking Massacre, have much greater significance for death education than commercial centres.
Key facts
- Facility
- Lvxing Base, described as China's first immersive natural disaster simulation centre
- Location
- Hangzhou, eastern China
- Adult ticket price
- 899 yuan (about US$135)
- Family package
- Nearly 5,000 yuan, including wilderness survival and water rescue training
- Opened
- September 2024
- Maximum wind speed
- 165 km/h
- Recorded visits
- More than 160,000
- Children's activities
- Selected activities for ages 6 to 14
Quotes
Zhang Yong
Social work professor at Wuhan University of Science and Technology
“The immediate proof of being able to cope with a crisis can be particularly attractive to people facing intense competition and uncertain outcomes in everyday life”
news18.com
“The suffocating fear made me forget I was merely ‘experiencing’ a disaster”
news18.com
Sources
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