roomraider
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Note: Before we dive in I dont have a conclusive answer for this but its been an interesting bit of research for me so thought I'd put some notes down on here.
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This has been an interesting question thats been floating around the internets for a while. And after the unexpected closure of Chimelong Paradise's Vekoma Motorbike coaster after just 17 years it has popped up again.
Do major coasters in China now have a maximum 20 years of service life before they must be removed?
They certainly didn't before, There are plenty of examples of rides which lasted beyond 20 years in the past. Express Station in Harbin reached the grand old age of 35 before it was removed in 2020 (it is thought to still live on in Uzbekistan as well) But over the last few years there has been more and more talk of this rule coming in and now being enforced.
I've never seen any concrete evidence of it (A nice scanned government document maybe in English would be nice
) but cicrumstantial evidence certainly suggests it may well be true. It seems every single major thrill coaster over 20 years old has closed in the last few years.
Perhaps most notably the Roller Coaster at Peoples Park in Zhengzhou which suddenly went SBNO in 2022 after 24 years of service. This was at the time the oldest operating looping coaster in China and I had long used it as an argument against the 20 year rule .
When it did close though It was reported here as "Reaching its Expiration"
"Yesterday, it was reported that many amusement facilities in Zhengzhou People's Park have been suspended. Amusement facilities such as Ferris wheels and roller coasters will cease operations after expiration to return them to the people. Netizens responded strongly to this. Many citizens also said, "Tears! Reluctant to let go, full of childhood memories."
In fact a quick look on the RCDB shows that now there isn't a single coaster in China that the DB rates as "Extreme" older than 20 years old.
The oldest operating looping coaster in China is currently this one in Inner Mongolia
This will reach its 20th birthday in September this year and I'll be keeping an eye on it for sure.
On a side note I came across something interesting while I was doing some research for the DB, i happened upon a video of the Shenlong Coaster at Nanning Zoo being ripped out. Nothing too unusual about that, Chinese Loop Screw coasters are ten a penny and often don't last long. I did a bit more searching to see if i could nail down a more precise closing date for the ride and came across this post.
An interesting tidbit that mentions that this specific model from MCC does in fact have a manafacturer dictated shelf life, In this case 15 years.
I did some due diligence and looked to see if there were any other rides of this particular model running after 15 years and came across the one at Xining Peoples Park that seemed to be running.
Ah...well scrap that (litterally) a very short search later showed it had also infact closed and been ripped out almost exactly on it's 15th birthday as well.
So it seems in the case of some Chinese built model's at least there is in fact a fairly strict expiration date on rides.
And it may well be the case for many models Nandaihe International Amusement Center in the North of China recently closed its 17 year old BSA Shuttle Loop and replaced it with an identical model for no obvious reason.
But that doesnt really confirm or deny the 20 years for every major coaster thing. Especially if they are western models. And double especially models of rides that have operated considerably longer elsewhere.
The first thing to note is that if the rule does exist it almost certainly doesn't apply to smaller rides. VR Coaster, the Vekoma Junior coaster in Shanghai has been happily running several hundred feet up in the air since 1996.
The problem is that it's really only been 20 years since major western rides really started appearing in China. Perhaps tellingly though the two earliest examples of that happening, both the Vekoma SLC and Vekoma Mine Train at Happy Valley Shenzhen closed almost exactly on their 20th Birthdays.
Dragon and Mine Train at Ocean Park in Hong Kong also both closed in 2022 (Both were well over 20 years old) but Hong Kong is a bit of a wildcard its possible they closed when new Chinese rules started coming into force over the last few years or its possible HK just has different rules. Perhaps tellingly though Hyperspace Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland also reaches its 20th soon and Disney announced recently that it will close and be replaced this coming summer.
Mad/Crazy Cobra the Premier bowl coaster at Discovery Land is 26 years old which may well throw a spanner in the works, But its only been in China for 18 years. So Does this count or not? Do relocations into the country or refurbishments reset the clock?
The next Western ride to reach the big 20 will be Sky Car. The mini Intamin Rocket Coaster at Mysterious Island. Which will reach it's birthday in December 2025.
This is followed in 2026 in quick succession by the Intamin 10 Looper at Chimelong Paradise as well as the B&M Flying Coaster, Vekoma SLC and Mine Train at Happy Valley Beijing.
In short I have no idea if China really does have a 20 year rule for major coasters. Recent closures and evidence is starting to make me believe it might but it's China and parks often don't last that long anyway.
Either way come 2026 I think we might know for sure, with some fairly major rides hitting their 20th Birthdays in the next few years.
If you are planning a trip to China to get any of these, It might be wise to go sooner rather than later.
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This has been an interesting question thats been floating around the internets for a while. And after the unexpected closure of Chimelong Paradise's Vekoma Motorbike coaster after just 17 years it has popped up again.
Do major coasters in China now have a maximum 20 years of service life before they must be removed?
They certainly didn't before, There are plenty of examples of rides which lasted beyond 20 years in the past. Express Station in Harbin reached the grand old age of 35 before it was removed in 2020 (it is thought to still live on in Uzbekistan as well) But over the last few years there has been more and more talk of this rule coming in and now being enforced.
I've never seen any concrete evidence of it (A nice scanned government document maybe in English would be nice
) but cicrumstantial evidence certainly suggests it may well be true. It seems every single major thrill coaster over 20 years old has closed in the last few years.Perhaps most notably the Roller Coaster at Peoples Park in Zhengzhou which suddenly went SBNO in 2022 after 24 years of service. This was at the time the oldest operating looping coaster in China and I had long used it as an argument against the 20 year rule .
When it did close though It was reported here as "Reaching its Expiration"
"Yesterday, it was reported that many amusement facilities in Zhengzhou People's Park have been suspended. Amusement facilities such as Ferris wheels and roller coasters will cease operations after expiration to return them to the people. Netizens responded strongly to this. Many citizens also said, "Tears! Reluctant to let go, full of childhood memories."
In fact a quick look on the RCDB shows that now there isn't a single coaster in China that the DB rates as "Extreme" older than 20 years old.
The oldest operating looping coaster in China is currently this one in Inner Mongolia
This will reach its 20th birthday in September this year and I'll be keeping an eye on it for sure.
On a side note I came across something interesting while I was doing some research for the DB, i happened upon a video of the Shenlong Coaster at Nanning Zoo being ripped out. Nothing too unusual about that, Chinese Loop Screw coasters are ten a penny and often don't last long. I did a bit more searching to see if i could nail down a more precise closing date for the ride and came across this post.
An interesting tidbit that mentions that this specific model from MCC does in fact have a manafacturer dictated shelf life, In this case 15 years.
I did some due diligence and looked to see if there were any other rides of this particular model running after 15 years and came across the one at Xining Peoples Park that seemed to be running.
Ah...well scrap that (litterally) a very short search later showed it had also infact closed and been ripped out almost exactly on it's 15th birthday as well.
So it seems in the case of some Chinese built model's at least there is in fact a fairly strict expiration date on rides.
And it may well be the case for many models Nandaihe International Amusement Center in the North of China recently closed its 17 year old BSA Shuttle Loop and replaced it with an identical model for no obvious reason.
But that doesnt really confirm or deny the 20 years for every major coaster thing. Especially if they are western models. And double especially models of rides that have operated considerably longer elsewhere.
The first thing to note is that if the rule does exist it almost certainly doesn't apply to smaller rides. VR Coaster, the Vekoma Junior coaster in Shanghai has been happily running several hundred feet up in the air since 1996.
The problem is that it's really only been 20 years since major western rides really started appearing in China. Perhaps tellingly though the two earliest examples of that happening, both the Vekoma SLC and Vekoma Mine Train at Happy Valley Shenzhen closed almost exactly on their 20th Birthdays.
Dragon and Mine Train at Ocean Park in Hong Kong also both closed in 2022 (Both were well over 20 years old) but Hong Kong is a bit of a wildcard its possible they closed when new Chinese rules started coming into force over the last few years or its possible HK just has different rules. Perhaps tellingly though Hyperspace Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland also reaches its 20th soon and Disney announced recently that it will close and be replaced this coming summer.
Mad/Crazy Cobra the Premier bowl coaster at Discovery Land is 26 years old which may well throw a spanner in the works, But its only been in China for 18 years. So Does this count or not? Do relocations into the country or refurbishments reset the clock?
The next Western ride to reach the big 20 will be Sky Car. The mini Intamin Rocket Coaster at Mysterious Island. Which will reach it's birthday in December 2025.
This is followed in 2026 in quick succession by the Intamin 10 Looper at Chimelong Paradise as well as the B&M Flying Coaster, Vekoma SLC and Mine Train at Happy Valley Beijing.
In short I have no idea if China really does have a 20 year rule for major coasters. Recent closures and evidence is starting to make me believe it might but it's China and parks often don't last that long anyway.
Either way come 2026 I think we might know for sure, with some fairly major rides hitting their 20th Birthdays in the next few years.
If you are planning a trip to China to get any of these, It might be wise to go sooner rather than later.
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