If you are a big fan of abandoned places, why don’t you embark on the trip to Ho Thuy Tien park in Hue city, which allures flocks of backpackers to come to explore the crumbling architecture and the mysterious stories behind it? Why is this creepy, deserted abandoned water park so popular? Find your answer in the article below!
I - How come Ho Thuy Tien water park is famous?
Source: cafef
Hue abandoned water park was constructed in 2000 and opened its doors to the public in June 2004 at a reported cost of around 3 million USD. With a total area of 49.9ha, the campus of the water park consists of many different areas such as an aquarium, amusement ride, and musical fountain stage with a capacity of 2,500 seats, etc.
However, when the park opened to the public, it did not make the splash that was hoped for before. After that, it was forced to close and left abandoned in 2006 because the funding ran out. Then, the ownership was passed to HACO company in 2013, which planned to restore Ho Thuy Tien water park in an eco-tourism venture. Nevertheless, the plan was unsuccessful, and the park was forgotten again. Due to these facts, many locals believe that the park is cursed, which is also one of the reasons to awaken the curiosity of numerous backpackers to come to explore the eerie and almost ghostly water park.
In 2016, Ho Thuy Tien park suddenly rose to prominence and became a popular tourist spot when its mysterious and “wild” images appeared in an article on the website Huffingtonpost.com in the US with the comments like “it’s spooky as hell, but surreal” or “a massive dragon structure whose interior looks vaguely like the set of a horror film”. Since then, the abandoned park has been more alluring to flocks of tourists, especially those who would love to explore the mysterious things.
II - The creepy highlights of Ho Thuy Tien water park
In spite of the lack of commercial success, Hue abandoned water park gained success as an off-the-beaten-track spot. The four most popular locations of the abandoned park in Hue are the immense pine forest, Dragon statue, aquarium, and musical fountain stage.
Note: Due to the long time of being left abandoned and the negative effects of weather conditions, the constructions in the park have deteriorated relatively seriously, therefore, you need to be careful to ensure your safety. There is plenty of rubbish and debris inside the park, so you should wear shoes to protect your feet. In addition, it is not advisable for you to enter Ho Thuy Tien abandoned park alone.
1 - The vast pine forest in Ho Thuy Tien water park
Source: phuotvivu
The winding, narrow, 3-km-long route leading you to Ho Thuy Tien park is covered with lush bushes and verdant jungles. Going through the jungles and the park, you come across abandoned villas, stone statues & sculptures, and a mushroom-shaped fountain, some of which have been still standing, some have been deformed due to the long period of time without preservation.
The overgrown foliage with the dreary weather of Hue city seems to add a more creepy and frightening “atmosphere” to the park. In addition, you can also see a concrete car like the one in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The moss-covered blue car with random graffiti lying amidst the foliage seems to allure numerous tourists as a perfect check-in spot.
2 - Dragon statue
This statue is the iconic image of Ho Thuy Tien water park - Source:
The 3-storey magnificent metal dragon seems to be the best part of the water park, perched on the spaceship-type aquarium. You climb up the spiraling staircases complete with ribs and a spine, then you get to the creature’s mouth. The winding, dark staircases with overlapped graffiti and weird pictures may scare the faint-hearted. From the dragon’s mouth, you get a panoramic view of both Thuy Tien lake and Thien An hill.
After leaving the Dragon house, you pass a bridge across the lake to get to three giant water slides which were damaged and overgrown with moss. It is advisable for you to not riskily climb up the slides but just give you a try to reach the top in order to watch the sunset!
3 - Aquarium in Ho Thuy Tien water park
On the route leading to the interior of the aquarium of Hue abandoned water park, you can see the rocky wall on one side decorated with vivid yet ghost-like sculptures and on the other being dry trunks with big routes. The cement sharps hanging on the walls or huge octopus on the ceiling with graffiti everywhere increase the horror and raise the terrible feelings.
Once you encounter the aquarium, the very first thing that you could notice is that some tanks are smashed while some are still full of water and there are no fish there. In the past, people rumored that there were a couple of giant crocodiles living and wandering the property, but now they are all gone. Almost all glass windows are broken into tiny pieces on the floor. The deeper you go to the aquarium of Ho Thuy Tien water park, the darker it gets, so be careful with the sharp broken glass and surroundings.
4 - Musical Fountain Stage (the amphitheater)
The amphitheater is incredibly outstanding with approximately 2,500 seats in yellow and blue colors, therefore, you can spot it from the entrance of the park. The stage, which used to be the place to showcase performances on the stage built over water, now is covered in grass and graffiti, which is a bit creepy and ghostly.
III - Useful information for tourists who dare to visit Ho Thuy Tien water park
1 - How to get to Thuy Tien water park?
Source: phuotvivu
Currently, Hue abandoned water park is located in Thuy bang commune, Huong Thuy town, Thua - Thien Hue province - about 8.5km from Hue Imperial City, 4.5km from Tuc Duc tomb, and 4km from Tu Hieu pagoda. Taxis and motorbikes are two popular means of transportation.
Some taxi brands you can find in Hue city:
- Vinasun Hue taxi: 0234 3788 788
- Xanh Taxi Hue: 0234 3678 999
- Hue private taxi: 0234 3840 333
If you get here by motorbike, it is suggested to follow the path behind the park instead of the main entrance where you are not allowed to enter the campus. The other way is to park in Thien An Monastery, which is only around 800m away from Ho Thuy Tien water park, then ask the valet the way to get to the park.
Fee: 10,000 VND/motorbike ($0.44)
2 - What is the future of Ho Thuy Tien park?
The local authority has planned to “revive” Ho Thuy Tien abandoned water park to become a cultural park to meet the entertainment needs of the community. If you don't want to miss this horror water park, you should come here as soon as possible before the scenery and the construction here are “renewed”.
The Chairman of Thua Thien Hue province, Mr.Phan Ngoc Tho stated that it was still ideal to establish the park to serve the entertainment needs of the community. Then, it is crucial to deploy appropriate investment projects and recover the current architecture, landscape as well as terrain around Ho Thuy Tien lake.
3 - Hue abandoned water park’s map
Ho Thuy Tien water park is definitely worth a visit if you are interested in exploring the unusual and a bit creepy sites. The tour to explore this unique water park will give you completely different feelings and experiences from other traditional tourist attractions in Hue city.
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— Ha Bich
