China Travel

Guilin Merryland, contrary to what the name would suggest, is not in Guilin but Xing'an, a small township 70km (44 mi) to Guilin's northwest. The Amusement park's sprawling grounds are comparable in size to Disneyland's, and comes complete with its own unique, Saturday-morning-cartoon-unaffiliated mascot characters.

As an amusement park, it has a good selection of the rides and sideshow games that you'd expect—the octopus, pay-per-throw ring toss games, the pirate ship and other old chestnuts. There is also a rollercoaster, but it is a good deal more tame than what many will have come to expect, with the total ride time clocking in well under the minute mark—all without a single moment spent upside down.

The park covers an area of 90 hectares and is divided into five sections, namely Merrytown, American Western Area, Dreamworld, Pirate Village and South Pacific Area as well as a forest area with accommodation options and downhill slides.

For those content to leave the rides and games to the kids, there's an international standard 18 hole golf course. Thrill seekers will appreciate the bungy jumping facility which comes at an extra cost.

If you're having so much fun that you just don't want to leave, very decent accommodation can be found in Merryland, although it will set you back at least RMB 500 a night.