BEIJING, October 18 ------ Visitors to a new aquarium in China were left furious this week after discovering one of its top aquatic stars was a robot, despite it being marketed as such. Xiaomeisha Ocean World in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, opened on Oct. 1 but was quickly slammed for its high prices, long queues, and poor conditions for its marine life. Much of the criticism, however, centered on the park’s star attraction: a “mechanized whale shark.” Photos of the shark showed joints in the body where parts of the robot had been joined together.
Negative reviews
On the online review platform Dazhong Dianping, users flooded the aquarium’s page with negative comments. “Are they trying to trick children?”
Many social media users posted under the hashtag “Netizens complain about spending hundreds of yuan at Xiaomeisha Sea World to see fake fish.”
The park, which charges around 240 yuan ($34) for adult tickets, has a rating of just 2.9 out of 5 stars on the popular review platform.
Raise awareness
In response, the park said that whale sharks are not allowed to be traded and keeping a real one in captivity would be cruel, while the robot was meant to raise awareness for protecting the species, local media reported. Inside the park, a sign introducing the robot shark read that it intended to “inspire everyone to understand the animals and their environment” and “with the aim of protecting the ecological environment.”
Local media reported over 100,000 people visited the park during a seven-day national holiday in the first week of October.
Fake pandas
This is not the first time an animal park in China has drawn attention for using fakes. In May, Taizhou Zoo in coastal Jiangsu province went viral after it dyed two Chow dogs black and white to make them resemble pandas. A zoo in Shanwei, Guangdong, admitted to the same stunt last month.
Source: inquirer.net
Comments