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'Enormous' version of Eden Project opens in China

Lisa Young
BBC News, Cornwall
Oriental Eden A drone photo from above Oriental Eden. The biome is shaped like an egg and it is surrounded by gardens and a small lake with fountains. There is a larger lake surrounding the site. The lake coastline echoes the shape of the top of the biome and there is a road inset from the shoreline.Oriental Eden
Oriental Eden has been developed on a 200-acre site overlooking Jiaozhou Bay

A new visitor attraction inspired by one in Cornwall has opened in China.

Eden Project's chief executive Andy Jaspar said Oriental Eden in Qingdao was an "enormous version" of its counterpart in St Austell.

He said the Eden teams had enjoyed "a wonderful collaboration" over the past 10 years and hoped the new site would continue to help people connect with nature.

The Cornish attraction was developed 24 years ago in a barren clay pit and the Chinese version has been created on a site recovered from a formerly polluted area of swamp land.

Oriental Eden Oriental Eden at night. The egg-shaped biome is illuminated with blue lights which shows its diamond-shaped panels. There are lit fountains in a lake next to the biome and a series of light installations nearby. Lights are reflected in the lake.Oriental Eden
Andy Jasper described the new attraction as "a huge biome which is modelled on the rainforest biome we have here in Cornwall"

Mr Jasper said the centre piece of the project was "a huge biome which is modelled on the rainforest biome we have here in Cornwall".

The 200-acre site overlooking Jiaozhou Bay had been regenerated by owner-operators Jinmao Holdings, he added.

Eden Project founder Sir Tim Smit KBE and chairman of the Eden Project Trust Orna NiChionna were guests at the official opening ceremony of Oriental Eden.

Eden Project Morecambe is expected to open in the north of England in 2028.

Oriental Eden Inside the rainforest biome. The tropical plants are mature and there are glass walkways throughout. Oriental Eden
Mr Jasper said the Eden Project and Oriental Eden teams had collaborated for the past 10 years

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