Aardvark is back reviewing place once again! this time a fairly great one. Chimelong Spaceship (Visit on March 30th 2024) Located right next to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Chimelong Spaceship is a brand new facility opened in last September. Proclaimed as the largest indoor theme park and aquarium in the world, it is a place that I always want to visit since the opening. Chimelong is well-known in China zoo community as one of the best, and so there are high expectations for Chimelong Spaceship. The news that they have quite a few orcas (12!, not all on show though) makes it extra attractive, although with that number will always come with controversy. But let’s not talk about that first for now. From the name Chimelong Spaceship, you may not know what is the facility all about . Well first, the whole thing is shaped like a Spaceship from the outside. Inside, you’re greeted with a futuristic look, think of something in a sci-fi movie. The walls and lighting all makes you feel like so. The whole theme going here is you’re in a spaceship going through different “planets”, with each zone representing a different sector. There are numerous staff dressed as different characters (think of something you’d see in an outerspace anime, if that make sense), and there are animatronics and statues of all kind. The whole thing does have a cartoonish look with it as well, and all of this clearly means the facility is more aimed at younger child. This isn’t a problem and in some way expected, with Chimelong being a theme park group after all. Just because it’s aimed at a younger group doesn’t mean adults cannot enjoy the park as well. However, there are some parts of the facilities with no live tanks etc., only childish thing and you can’t really skip those parts (the whole thing is basically a one direction loop, although you do get some shortcut here and there of course). Just a slight issue for me but I understand what they’re doing. As a theme park, you would also expect quite a few rides, and indeed there are. Unfortunately I didn’t take any of them with time constrains and queue, but from what I’ve heard the 5D cinema and the ascending tank ride are quite fun? Not going to talk a lot about them as this is zoochat. Anyway, the rides are in a separate area from all the tank stuff, on the upper floor while most of the aquariums are in the lower floor. The whole thing is all indoor, so the rides are not as crazy (again aim at a more childish look) which I guess also fit the whole target audience thing. Also there are paid arcades in the place, which I really don’t understand why is that needed. Not like it fits the theming at all, there’s literally fast and furious driving ride (do be in chilling),and why would you paid an arcade ride when you are in Chimelong of all place, I have literally zero idea. Again this isn’t themepark chat so I’ll move on. What doesn’t just focus on kids is the best Chimelong factor. Chimelong do be splashing the cash. The orcas show contains 6 orcas, and it is really a sight. The tank is huge, maybe not for 6, but it is definitely larger than anything Japan or SeaWorld have to offer. Before and after the show, artificial waves are being generated so that the orcas can go “surfing”. It is a fun sight seeing them going through the waves and making some splash even when the show hasn’t start. I don’t believe anywhere else have done that. The show tank, from what I believed, is connected but not the same as the exhibit tank, one that you can view underwater in another huge window. This window is the size you’d see in large aquarium tank; think like the tank in Ocean Kingdom or the main windows in any other large aquarium, with the difference being this is the orca tank. The 2 large male are always putting up good showing, submerging underwater and providing great photos, while there are a father and son duo (I believe) which are very close to each other. It’s another viewing place one can spend way more than necessary to admire. The orcas are not the only thing Chimelong Spaceship has to offer. The main tank of the coral section is huge, with it being proclaimed as the largest living coral reef in human care, a claim that I have no issue believing in. It is a glamorous tank stretching across the eye, with numerous fish species, albeit mostly common species, swimming around. It is a tank that you can admire for a long time, even for someone like me who doesn’t care a lot about corals and fish. With 8 West African manatees, they also put up a great sight, especially when during feeding section. It is nice seeing these gentle creatures all grouping up to the keeper/diver and getting all the lettuce. The shark tank is also quite nice with 4 species of shark, with the prime jewel being one of the few tiger sharks in captivity, a good size one as well. There are also Baikal seals, with overhead view and two cylindrical tanks like those you see in Japan. The place probably also contain quite a few fish rarities that I have no idea. Now despite all these, there are a few issues about the place. The birds are one of the main problems. I guess as a way to increase immersion, a few tanks are open topped with birds on the land area. These include egrets, spoonbills, but also even marabou stork. For one, the place is all indoor so these birds will never see daylight, but also since they’re confined to the upper area, they are most likely clipped birds who are limited to very little space for movement. Of course there are also parrots on a stick, and also the “signature” of Chimelong, hornbills on a stick. These are issue that for me is far worse and not acceptable, especially for a place like Chimelong. Another issue, as come with the nature of it, is cetaceans captivity. Even though the orcas tank is large, it still have some of the issues facing all cetaceans in captivity, and is probably illustrated by the curved dorsal fin of the 2 larger whale (Seems like a common problem for orcas in captivity? Would anyone like to explain why?). The white-sided dolphin tank is much smaller than their larger cetacean cousins, and on the small side with 4 to 5 individuals. Pacific white-sided dolphins are also present in Ocean Kingdom, which do make you wonder why don’t they display their spotted dolphins here (to avoid duplication of species). Despite issues in both animal husbandry and bits of theming issues imo, Chimelong Spaceship is still a great place that is probably one of the best aquarium complexes in China. Despite its problems it is still a very enjoyable experience with some of the most impressive sight you can see in an aquarium. There’s no doubt the place will keep continue changing as with all other Chimelong facilities, and it’ll be very interesting to see how will the place develop as time goes on. As of now, I think it is a good supplementary to the Ocean Kingdom next door, although I do enjoy the park next more. Photos are being uploaded to the China-other gallery:China - Other - ZooChat
Re. the orcas, Chimelong actually have twelve in total, although only six seem to be used in shows. The six that are usually off display include females; Katenka (mother of three), Sonya and Nukka (the latter two of which were recently transferred from the holding facility), and obviously the three youngest calves, Loki, Katniss and the youngest unnamed calf. The six on display would be the males, Nakhod, Tyson (the two adult males), Bandhu, Chad, Kaixin and Yilong (the first captive born). It's nice to hear Yilong has formed a bond with one of the two adult males (his father being the largest, Tyson) The males do seem to love the wave machine, and I've seen countless videos of them utilising it quite a lot since the facility first opened last year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from the looks of it from videos, the first underwater viewing window may actually look out into the main pool. The small window on the roof in that circular area which peers up into the orca pool (in a shallower area), is I believe that shallower area beside the main pool (where the waves begin), therefore meaning that said pool is the same. It could be one of the back pools though - I'm not entirely sure, having not visited myself. Great question! Whilst nothing has been thoroughly confirmed, it's been theorised its due to orcas in captivity spending far more time near the surface, consequently allowing gravity to pull their dorsal fins over. Their dorsal fins are similar to our ears, so there's essentially no muscle or bones in there. Males obviously grow to far bigger sizes, and have bigger dorsal fins. The bigger (and taller) the dorsal fin leads to more chance of it collapsing under the pressure of gravity. That's why a few females tend to remain with straight dorsal fins, whereas its less of the case with males. Some also theorise climate could also play a part; as for example, the orcas at Seaworld in Florida and Texas tended to have collapsed dorsals, compared to the ones in California. But then again, there are some exceptions that have proved this theory otherwise. To me, one that stands strongly is genetics. There have been a few instances where we've seen males retain a straight dorsal fin into early adulthood, and it's not a coincidence they come from mothers who also have straight dorsal fins themselves. In comparison, some males have had their dorsal fins collapse at a very young age - not surprising that their mother also has a 'partially' collapsed dorsal too. We haven't been able to see this theory play out fully as we've had limited calves born in captivity thus far to attribute a certain trend to, but I do believe we've seen enough to say there is some correlation between dorsal fin collapse and genetics.
