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All Vietnam Hương Thủy Hồ Thuỷ Tiên
Hồ Thuỷ Tiên is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Hồ Thuỷ Tiên

Vietnam's feral abandoned water park offers access to a post-apocalyptic funscape, now with fewer crocodiles.

Hương Thủy, Vietnam

Added By
Dylan Thuras
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CAPTION
The crumbling dragon aquarium, in all its glory and might   Chris Staring
Amphitheater, better without people   Chris Staring
Slide exit, do not use   Chris Staring
Abandoned water slides, used only by fools   Chris Staring
Inside the belly of a dragon (aquarium)   Skare Media
Tetanus heaven looks like this   Chris Staring
Abandoned tanks   Michael Turtle
Inside the dragon   Michael Turtle
Magnificent rusting dragon   Michael Turtle
  Zadigmathafack / Atlas Obscura User
A little flower in Water Park, Hue, Vietnam   TOP VIETNAM
Slides   Michael Turtle
Inviting waters   Michael Turtle
Main Gate   Michael Turtle
Inside the dragon   Michael Turtle
This lovely building housed a flight simulator ride   Michael Turtle
  tomcypmichael / Atlas Obscura User
  tomcypmichael / Atlas Obscura User
  tomcypmichael / Atlas Obscura User
Abandoned slides (May 2020)   greggc80 / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the dragon (May 2020)   greggc80 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Opened in 2004 at a price tag of approximately three million USD, the Ho Thuy Tien water park opened its gates to the public when it was only partially completed. Bankrolled by Company Hue Tourism, debuting a half-finished dream turned out to be a bad business move; but, in an odd turn of events, ever since its closure, the park has provided Hue's tourism industry with an off-the-books boon they never could have seen coming. 

In the heyday of Ho Thuy Tien, adults and children alike were magnetically attracted to the park's signature giant, three-story-tall dragon aquarium. Rising from the lake at the park's center, manta rays and sharks lined the walls of the interior staircase, built to resemble a dragon's rib cage. On all sides of the dragon's bowels were aquarium tanks full of live fish and crocodiles. These crocs would later rival the dragon as superstars of the abandoned park, as well.

Even with an excited population of park-goers flocking to Ho Thuy Tien, drawn by the promise of cool waters and good times, something was amiss. Within just a few years, the business continued to experience problems. After it shuttered, plans to resurrect the park from its fiscal troubles by turning it into an eco-park swirled throughout Hue's local media as recently as 2013. Instead, those revitalization plans died on the table, leaving the park to become a legendary destination for travelers to the region. 

Located ten kilometers outside of town, Ho Thuy Tien now exists in a sort of purgatory between worlds. When business was booming, the park was an easy-to-find destination, listed in guidebooks; no longer the case, Ho Thuy Tien is now – justifiably or not – a sort of badge of honor among travelers, with its coordinates passed from one another by word of mouth, though it's just as easily Google-able. Located eight kilometers out of town, the park isn't exactly easy to get to, but once there, visitors may be surprised to find a quasi-guard posted at the gate collecting "admission" to the site. Sometimes there's even a refreshment cart in operation inside the abandoned park.

The sight of a gigantic dragon laying claim to his lake is made more stunning for its crumbling state. The abandoned amphitheater where hundreds of spectators witnessed shows before the fun died is as eerie as expected, and the three remaining water slides rise through creeping woods, and the specter of abandoned crocodiles once kept alive by visiting backpackers still looms. Thankfully the latter, pitiable case seems to have been resolved in recent months, after repeated calls to WWF and PETA, until the Vietnamese government finally transported them to a proper wildlife park. Still, it seems best to avoid all water in the park both for reasons of sanitation and potential rogue chomping.

Related Tags

Abandoned Amusement Parks Abandoned Animals

Know Before You Go

Best found by asking around, or locating via "dropped pin" coordinates. Be prepared to "tip" the guard at the gate for unfettered access to the park. However, this may not always be possible, in which case it's best observed from a distance. 

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Vietnam: Fish Sauce, Pho & Royal Tea

Eating your way from North to South in Vietnam.

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Community Contributors

Added By

Dylan

Edited By

michelle, littlebrumble, libbyruthgreen, tomcypmichael...

  • michelle
  • littlebrumble
  • libbyruthgreen
  • tomcypmichael
  • lythuha1207
  • greggc80
  • Zadigmathafack

Published

April 18, 2016

Edit this listing

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Sources
  • http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2016/03/abandoned-water-park-hue-vietnam/
  • http://saigoneer.com/vietnam-travel/6087-photos-take-a-tour-of-hue-s-eerie-abandoned-waterpark
  • http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/ho-thuy-tien-abandoned-water-park.html
  • https://agperhaps.com/2015/06/26/we-fed-the-abandoned-crocodiles-of-ho-thuy-tien/
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud4lrXgfl-s
Hồ Thuỷ Tiên
Hương Thủy
Vietnam
16.407743, 107.578607

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Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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