Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) The much-anticipated Taipei Children's Amusement Park officially opened Tuesday, attracting hundreds of visitors within the first few minutes.

Spanning 5 hectares in the city's Shilin district, the facility is currently the biggest publicly operated amusement park in Taiwan.

It will be open daily, except on Mondays and Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and during the schools' winter and summer vacations.

The park is divided into three main theme zones -- Fantasy Forest and Dream Ocean; Magic Planet; and Toy Soldier Kingdom, offering such popular amusement rides as the free fall, pirate ship, Ferris wheel, flying chairs, roller coaster, monorail, and carousel.



There is also an indoor playground and a children's theater at the park.

According to park officials, around 400 people visited within the first 30 minutes of the park's opening.

Among them was an elderly couple from New Taipei's Sanxia district, who said they planned to bring their grandchildren next time, and a Singaporean mother with her two daughters.

The park was built by the Taipei City government to replace a historic playground near the iconic Grand Hotel on the tree-lined Zhongshan North Road.

(By Huang Yi-han and Y.F. Low)
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