National Tide 1980.

February 7, 1991, the 2th day of the twelfth lunar month, the capital of the People's Republic of China.

This day is the second weekend of the month.

Despite the north wind sweeping through the streets with ice shards, it still couldn't stop some people from wanting to go out and have some fun and relax as the year draws to a close.

Especially parents with children.

However, amidst the crowds at the amusement park in Beijing, the loudest sounds were not the children's cheers, but the adults' complaints rising and falling at the ticket window.

"Wow, the tickets are so expensive!"

An ordinary young worker and his girlfriend, who were queuing in front of an amusement park in Beijing, were suddenly forced back to the harsh reality from their happy anticipation.

Because it was their first time visiting, they had just seen the ticket price posted at the window.

To their surprise, they discovered that a pass for all the rides here cost 20 yuan, so for two people it would cost 40 yuan.

Even just buying a ticket for sightseeing costs two yuan.

If they want to eat some more food, or buy some snacks and small items.

Wouldn't the banknotes in that pocket just fly away as if they had grown wings?
Keep in mind that each of them only earns about 150 yuan a month.

Playing this game once would cost them most of a month's income. How could they not feel the pinch?
Therefore, their complaints are not isolated cases.

In fact, none of the people queuing in front of and behind them thought the young man was stingy; on the contrary, they felt a great deal of sympathy for him.

"Absolutely! The price of just this one ticket is enough for half a rack of spare ribs! That's outrageous."

A man in a military green overcoat, with his child, stood behind them in line, his face contorted with heartache, as if he had just witnessed an amusement park employee stewing and eating his half-ribs right in front of him.

Even the father, who was with his family of three behind him, sighed, his voice full of helplessness, "It's one thing that the entrance is expensive. The problem is that the things inside are expensive too. Take this cotton candy, for example, it's a total rip-off. Other parks charge three cents, but here they dare to sell it for a dollar! A small ball of candy costs a dollar. I've never heard of such a price!"

However, despite the growing chorus of complaints, not a single person actually turned around and left.

Although some people grumbled, "Half a month's salary is almost gone," or complained, "This trip was such a rip-off, I'll never come again," when they finally reached the place where they had to pay, they didn't hesitate to take out their money.

After receiving their tickets, people hurriedly headed into the amusement park, fearing that if they were even a minute late, they would miss out on a minute of fun.

For no other reason than that Beijing Amusement Park is currently the only one of its kind in the country in terms of both its amusement park operation model and its amusement facilities.

The amusement park, covering a total area of ​​40 square meters, was built entirely in the style of Japanese amusement parks, and the first batch of 19 world-class large-scale amusement facilities were all imported.

For example, the Ferris wheel, which was 62 meters tall and had a wheel diameter of 47.4 meters, was the tallest Ferris wheel in Asia at the time. Some people even described it as "being able to see half of Beijing when you sit on it".

For example, a super roller coaster with a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour is still called a "spiral roller coaster".

The amusement park also features China's first aerial monorail train, as well as novel attractions such as a carousel, log flume, flying saucer, happy cup, and surprise house.

The animal-shaped inflatable bouncy houses, which have already become popular in Japan and many other countries, are making their debut for children in China here.

Children can jump freely barefoot in the soft, bouncy duck house without worrying about bumping into things.

To put it bluntly, most families come here for the sake of their children.

For children in Beijing, visiting such a modern and fashionable amusement park has become a source of pride and something to brag about to their friends.

Nowadays, most children are only children, and they tend to compare themselves with each other.

When other people's children come to visit, our own children certainly can't be treated unfairly; they have to see and experience it for themselves.

Not to mention, for many families, it takes countless pleadings and cajoling for their children to finally get their parents to give in.

They had been looking forward to this amusement park trip for almost half a year, and some of them even got it as a reward from their parents after working hard on their final exams.

With the winter vacation almost over, as parents, we can't just come and go because the tickets are expensive, thus spoiling our children's fun.

So the biting cold and exorbitant ticket prices did nothing to stop the throngs of people.

Just how popular is this place?
You can tell by looking at how long the queue is in front of the ticket window.

The queue stretched tightly together, winding from the main entrance all the way to the icy mud road on the side of the street.

Everyone was wrapped in bulky cotton-padded jackets and trousers, with scarves burying half their faces in their collars, revealing only pairs of eyes that shone brightly from the heat.

The children, wrapped in thick cotton-padded blankets, were either held in the arms of adults or holding hands with their parents. Some were a little mischievous, restlessly craning their necks to look into the park while clinging to their parents' shoulders.

Anyway, the chattering of most people drowned out the sound of the wind.

"Dad, I want to ride the roller coaster later!"

"Mom, let's go inside and play the bumper cars first! I want to drive one!"

Putting everything else aside, just considering the effort involved in queuing for most of the day to buy a ticket, who would be willing to leave so easily?
That's not all; if you step into the garden, you'll see an even more vibrant and bustling scene.

The roller coaster track drew sharp arcs under the leaden-gray frozen clouds. The iron railings of the waiting area were packed with people, adults and children shoulder to shoulder, their breaths forming a thin mist that lingered in the air for a long time.

The queue for the aerial bicycles had already turned three corners.

Parents rubbed their hands and stamped their feet to keep warm, but patiently coaxed their children, "Almost there, almost there, you'll be able to sit down in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette."

The bumper car area was surrounded by layers of barriers, and the clanging of metal, children's screams, and adults' cheers mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere that could shatter the cold wind.

The staff members wearing blue overalls were extremely busy.

The ticket inspector's gloves were already soaked with sweat, and the ticket tongs in his hands were opening and closing rapidly. His arms were so sore that he could hardly lift them, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, only to be frozen stiff by the cold wind as soon as they reached his chin.

The girl selling snacks and drinks was shouting at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking.

The trash cans next to the kiosk were piled up like small mountains, and just by looking at the food wrappers, you could tell that the goods here wouldn't have any trouble selling. There were also workers maintaining order, holding megaphones and weaving back and forth in the crowd. The brim of their cotton hats was pulled back on their heads, and sweat dripped down their foreheads and wrinkles, forming a cool line of water on their necks.

Isn't that strange?
Despite the freezing weather, a large patch of dark sweat had seeped under his hat.

In short, despite the howling north wind, the frost on the treetops gleaming coldly, and the snow on the streets frozen solid, the day was quite different.

But the crowds, noise, and heat in the garden had long since washed away any remaining bit of chill.

Amidst the clamor and laughter of countless people, sunlight occasionally peeks through the clouds, falling on the throngs of people and the glittering amusement park rides, creating a warm and festive atmosphere reminiscent of the approaching Chinese New Year.

This is currently the most popular modern entertainment venue in Beijing, and also the place in Beijing where you can make the most money.

It's no exaggeration to say that even a prestigious place like the Forbidden City can't outsell it in terms of ticket sales.

After all, for ordinary Chinese people today...

Ancient buildings with carved beams and painted rafters can be found everywhere; even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run.

The emperor's palace is more or less predictable and not too mysterious.

However, the various large-scale electrified amusement projects in Beijing Amusement Park, which are full of technological features, cannot be manufactured in China yet. They are things that most ordinary people cannot even imagine.

Therefore, being able to visit a Beijing amusement park and experience this modern entertainment facility that represents fashionable urban life is something that everyone finds mysterious, exciting, and even evokes a sense of longing and admiration for imported culture.

Therefore, it is only natural that a consumer premium would arise from this.

This is like a bucket of instant coffee powder that costs only one yuan to manufacture, but when it's branded with the Bird's Nest logo in China, it can be sold for more than ten yuan a bucket.

Just like a whole chicken that costs no more than two dollars to produce, which Kentucky disassembles and recreates using fast food cooking methods, yet can sell for at least fifty dollars.

Just like a bottle of Hennessy XO, Ning Weimin only had a cost of about 1,500 yuan to import from France.

However, just like how they can be sold for a high price of 8,888 yuan in a Beijing dance hall, they can generate unimaginable profits.

However, despite the fact that this is true, what is even more puzzling is that the Beijing Amusement Park, which is famous throughout the country and occupies a prime location in the capital, and is a popular amusement park with only peak season and no off-season, has been consistently losing money on its books. Who would believe that?
It must be said that this amusement park, which was built in 1984, is a place that has left countless children in Beijing with wonderful memories and joy. However, many of its secrets are unknown to the public. It is the biggest mistake made by the Chongwen District Government in its cooperative investment, and it is a scar that is hard to uncover.

The idea for this project was first proposed by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Parks and Forestry, with the initial goal of changing the situation where the southern part of the city lacked large-scale amusement parks.

At the time, this suggestion received strong support from the Chongwen District Government, which subsequently decided to attract foreign investment to build the amusement park.

However, despite sending people abroad to investigate so many places and contacting many foreign companies suitable for cooperation, the district government still failed to avoid the biggest business trap.

In short, the cooperation between the two sides involves Japan providing funding, technology, and equipment, while China provides land use rights.

According to the "Project Proposal for the Establishment of Sino-Foreign Joint Venture BJ Amusement Park" issued by the District Government Planning and Economic Commission on September 26, 1984, the District Government believed that building an amusement park in the area of ​​Longtan Lake Park would improve the quality of life of citizens and increase tax revenue for the country without damaging the greenery.

Six months after the proposal was submitted, on February 21, 1985, the two parties signed a cooperation agreement.

At that time, Party A was Huaxia Jingcheng Longtan Tourism Development Company, which was under the jurisdiction of the Chongwen government, and Party B was Japan-China General Development Co., Ltd.

In this 15-year contract, both parties agreed to invest 2 billion yen, which was approximately 20 million RMB at the time, to register and establish Jingcheng Amusement Park Co., Ltd.

The Japanese side contributed 1.2 billion yen in cash and equipment, representing a 60% stake.

The district government invested 800 million yen for a 40% stake, which was used for demolition compensation, damage to trees and aquatic products, and 15 years of land use rights.

In addition, the Japanese side contributed 4.6 billion yen as an interest-free loan for later operations.

The Chongwen District government naturally places high hopes on the development prospects of amusement parks.

The cooperation period is fifteen years, with an estimated revenue of 1.9 million yuan. The profit ratio of each party is as follows: 35.8% for the Chinese party, 34.1% for the Chinese party in the joint venture, totaling 69.9%, and 30.1% for the Japanese party in the joint venture.

This is actually a conservative estimate of the amusement park's revenue by the Chongwen District Planning and Economic Commission.

Based on this expectation, the Beijing amusement park is expected to bring in at least 1.3 million yuan in revenue for China in the future.

However, subsequent developments did not go as the district government had hoped.

Indeed, after nearly three years of preparation and two years of construction, on April 18, 1987, the Beijing Amusement Park, jointly built by the Beijing Longtan Tourism Development Company and Japan-China Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd., was officially completed on the shore of Longtan Lake, marking a successful start.

At the time, major newspapers reported on this event, praising this first amusement park in Beijing as "Beijing Disneyland".

On its first Children's Day after reopening, Beijing Amusement Park deeply felt the Beijing people's desire and enthusiasm for new things.

Without any promotion, tens of thousands of tourists flocked to the Beijing Amusement Park from all over the city.

In 1987, many children in Beijing, even before they could ride a bicycle, experienced the fun of riding an aerial bicycle with their parents.

Roller coasters and log flumes, which used to be only seen on TV, have become the most popular attractions for tourists. If you want to ride them, you have to wait in line for at least an hour.

Moreover, at that time, there was no all-inclusive ticket system. The amusement park ticket cost 1 yuan, and a ride on the Ferris wheel cost 1.5 yuan. The roller coaster and log flume rides cost as much as 4 yuan per person per ride... Such charges were obviously more expensive than all-inclusive tickets.

That year, although the Beijing Amusement Park was only in operation for less than eight months, it still attracted an astonishing 100 million visitors.

Despite its immense popularity, the amusement park suffered huge losses year after year, according to financial data provided by the Japanese side. By the end of 1988 alone, the park's losses had reached tens of millions of yuan, almost a third of the initial investment.

The reasons given by the Japanese side for the losses.

The district government naturally wouldn't easily believe such unreliable reasons; the Japanese side was clearly trying to shift the blame and monopolize the benefits.

Besides, they may not know anything else, but they see tickets and merchandise being sold like hotcakes every day, so how could they possibly believe the Japanese side's one-sided story?

The problem lies precisely in the fact that the domestic industrial level is really lagging behind. Since all the equipment was provided by the Japanese side, they insisted that the maintenance costs were huge and too much wasted, and the district government had no way to prove that they had done something wrong.

This is where the trouble begins. Imagine how the district government must feel about having such a shameless partner.
Those who are having the hardest time right now are not actually the Japanese people in Tokyo who watch the stock and housing markets continue to fall, nor are they the Japanese companies whose businesses are negatively impacted by the Japanese economy.

Instead, it was the Chinese people, far away in the interior of the Republic, busy helping the Japanese with their affairs, who, despite witnessing the joint venture project operating normally, were bullied and couldn't get a single penny. (End of Chapter)