THEMED ATTRACTIONS
CHOCOLATE FEST
It’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t like chocolate. Which is probably why it
continues to be such an appealing subject for so many attractions around the world. Kath Hudson looks at some of the sites that are whetting our appetites
W
hile the Western world can’t remember a time without choco- late, its infl uence in China is
altogether more low key, with, according to the European trade association Caobisco, the average Chinese person only consum- ing 100g a year. By contrast, the Irish are the world’s biggest chocolate munchers, eating 11.85 kilos a year, the Brits are just behind with 10.8 kilos being eaten, while Americans eat 5.18 kilos a year. World Chocolate Wonderland, a new
theme park which is actually made from chocolate, at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium site aims to change all that. Launched with a fashion show, where
the models wore clothes and wigs made from chocolate, the attraction is an awe- inspiring showcase of chocolate art. Exhibits include Louis Vuitton handbags, Ming Dynasty porcelain, a 33ft (10m) model of the Great Wall of China and a BMW made out of two tonnes of chocolate, which took 10 people six months to build. Due to the non-durable nature of its building materials, the theme park will only open for three months – from 29 January
to 10 April – then will close and be rebuilt each year. During its three-month lifespan, the attraction has a target of one million visitors. Eight thousand people came to the opening and fi gures were higher over the fi rst weekend. It took fi ve months to build, with choco-
late imported from Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. The 20,000sq m (215,000sq ft) exhibition space includes three exhibi- tion halls, all temperature controlled so that the chocolate exhibits, which are enclosed with glass panels, won’t melt. Visitors can make their own chocolates and marvel at the exhibits. However, it seems the real aim of World Chocolate Wonderland is to introduce the pleas- ures of chocolate to a vast and untapped audience. As the Chinese get richer, their tastes are expected to get sweeter and the potential for chocolate sales is enormous. Belgian chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut, was one of the chocolate manu- facturers happy to jump on the opportunity, sponsoring one tonne of the chocolate used to make an army of 500 chocolate warriors and running demonstrations of a
chocolate showpiece during the opening week. Paul Halliwell, Barry Callebaut vice president gourmet Asia-Pacifi c, says the company was keen to get involved and will continue to support it in future years. “We believed it was a good opportunity
for us to engage the public in the educa- tion of chocolate and promote our brands, especially our Belgian brand, Callebaut,” he says. “Today, China consumes very lit- tle chocolate per capita, but represents a good opportunity in the future. So we wanted to promote our company and our brands to the Chinese. It also gave us the opportunity to explain about real chocolate versus compound coating, which has been traditionally used in China.” Most chocolate attractions follow the
same formula: they show the chocolate- making process and involve the audience, provide the opportunity to taste it and recount the heritage of the manufacturer, or country, or both. World Chocolate Wonderland is completely different. It’s been done on a huge scale, attracting the attention of companies from around the globe, all anxious for a toehold in the
An average Chinese person only eats 100g of chocolate a year (Brits eat 10.8kg). World Chocolate Wonderland hopes to change this
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AM 2 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
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