A theme park in southwestern China has issued a public apology and removed several controversial sculptures after visitors and social media users condemned the artworks as disturbing and inappropriate. The Land of Wilderness theme park in Lijiang city, Yunnan province, faced intense backlash when images of its surreal sculptures went viral on Chinese social media platforms, sparking a broader debate about the boundaries between artistic expression and public sensibilities.
The controversial artworks that triggered the uproar included a sculpture resembling a human centipede and another depicting a three-faced girl. Photos and videos circulating online showed the park set in a vast field of overgrown grass, dotted with improvised huts and steampunk-inspired vehicles. It remains unclear whether these particular controversial pieces were part of the original attractions when the park first opened in 2020.
The theme park was conceived by artist Qiao Xiaodao as a fairy tale kingdom for his daughter, according to a description on the park's WeChat account. The site's mission is to transform scraps and waste metal into treasures using the power of imagination and to bring Qiao's childhood memories and imaginary worlds into reality. However, critics panned the viral artworks as more grotesque than imaginative.
Public reaction on social media was swift and harsh. "This is what fairy tales have become?" commented one user on WeChat. "What sort of person would come up with an art style like this?" Another user wrote, "Does the dream mean nightmare?" while yet another critic described the artworks as "horrifying," remarking that "one should know how to differentiate between eerie concepts and artistic flair."
On Monday, October 13, the theme park issued a formal apology for the discomfort it caused to some visitors and announced that it had dismantled some of the controversial pieces, though it did not specify which ones were removed. "Land of Wilderness highly values the public's feedback and opinion and has taken immediate action to improve," the park stated on microblogging site Weibo. "Moving forward, in our creative process, we will broadly incorporate everyone's opinions and suggestions, and continuously strive to present better artistic works to all."
The apology itself sparked another wave of discussion online, with some internet users rallying in support of the park and calling the backlash nonsensical. One visitor who had taken her two children to the park and enjoyed the experience defended the attraction. "Those who don't like the park can choose not to visit, or do your research before visiting. Why must there be improvements? Why must it be suitable for everyone?" she wrote on Weibo.
On the popular lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, other visitors posted photos to demonstrate that the park offers much more than the sculptures under fire. One user likened the installations to a child's imagination coming to life and described the theme park as a real-life fairy tale. "Those who criticized the place as uncomfortable, spooky, I want to ask if they have personally visited this place?" she wrote in a post. "Or did they simply stroll through the park and treat it as an internet check-in spot – compared to the many frivolous exhibitions in the big cities, this place is much better."
State media also weighed in on the controversy, with People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party, publishing a commentary on Wednesday calling for balance between artistic expression and public scrutiny. The commentary stated that "designing and creating unconventional sculptures falls within a creator's creative freedom, and they would have different aesthetics and modes of artistic expression, a right that should be respected." However, it noted that since the sculptures were placed in a public setting, they should be subject to scrutiny, and the controversy that arose was not surprising.
The People's Daily commentary argued that the park's decision to remove some sculptures was not succumbing to public pressure, but rather a business consideration. "If the park were to be mired in controversy and lose its popularity due to a few sculptures, the losses would outweigh the gains," the commentary stated, adding that removing them meant "cutting losses in a timely manner." The publication concluded that "while art in public spaces should maintain its artistic individuality, it can only receive greater commercial returns by forming a positive interaction with public expectations and reaching a consensus with public aesthetics."
In a 2023 interview with Shanghai-based news portal The Paper, artist Qiao Xiaodao described the theme park as "a kind of hospital," explaining that its primary purpose was to help him find happiness after struggling with depression. "After its completion, I found many people who were like me, who also became happy after visiting the Land of Wilderness," Qiao said. "This hospital has no doctors and no medication prescribed. People enter, and for some reason, become happy. They then leave and return to society, resuming their everyday lives." The controversy highlights the ongoing tension in China between artistic freedom and public expectations, particularly when art intersects with commercial entertainment venues.
