Ho Thuy Tien lies just outside Huong Thuy town in Hue and has become somewhat of a rite of passage for travellers on the banana pancake trail. Visitors can access the park fairly easily and explore the cracked water slides, partially full aquarium tanks and the increasing creep of nature over the pathways and structures.
Upon entering, explorers are greeted by a three-storey metal dragon perched protectively on top of the abandoned aquarium. Underneath, lies eerie, winding corridors resembling the beast’s ribs and filled with empty tanks.
The result is something straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie and you can imagine explorers being on edge, waiting for an undead creature to lurch out at them. Nature is beginning to stake its claim on all the man-made structures as well; plants and moss are getting wilder and more unmanageable.
The park even used to be home to some unfortunate live crocodiles, forgotten after the owners packed everything up. However recent visitor reports say they’ve now thankfully beenrounded up and brought to a wildlife rescue park.
As well as a fondness for abandoned aesthetic, one of the main appeals of the park is the mystery that surrounds it. The news of the park has been passed through the South East Asian backpacker grapevine. However, its increasing popularity means entrepreneurial locals are now collecting ‘admission’ at the gates and backpackers can even take advantage of a refreshment stand that pops up nearby.
The park originally opened in 2004 and cost US$3 million to build. It was opened before it was completed, however, and shut down due to business problems just a few years later. Despite promises of rebuilding a revitalising eco-park, the site has remained derelict but has still provided a boost to the local tourism economy.