An aquarium in China has been criticized for its new whale shark attraction, with angry guests demanding a refund ‘on the spot’.
Xiaomieisha Ocean World in Shenzhen reopened to much fanfare earlier this month after a five-year renovation.
The 60,000 square meter marine park attracted approximately 100,000 visitors during the seven-day trial period.
But many felt shortchanged after the star whale shark’s attraction turned out to be a robot.
Photos taken through the glass of the large tank show that the sea creature is clearly a man-made imitation, with holes in the body visibly showing several pieces connected together.
We need a bigger bot… An aquarium in Shenzhen was criticized after visitors noticed the whale shark was actually a robot
Several irate visitors demanded refunds
Xiaomieisha Ocean World said it was putting the robot on display because it is now banned from trading live whale sharks
Visitors were reportedly furious after paying the equivalent of £30 per ticket to see what was actually a robot.
One wrote in a scathing review: ‘The park isn’t big enough, even the whale shark is artificial.
‘At 3 p.m. people were already calling for a refund on site.’
Another reviewer wrote: ‘The most disappointing part was the whale shark exhibit.
‘When I heard the name I was full of anticipation, but when I arrived I saw a mechanical whale shark.
‘Even if it’s for animal protection reasons, I’d rather they don’t have one at all than show a fake one.
“It’s not interesting at all.”
The same visitor also criticized the marine park’s live fish, writing: ‘The fish care was not professional enough.
‘I noticed that some of the fish in the tanks had white spots.
‘Most people wouldn’t notice it, but anyone who keeps tropical fish knows it is white spot disease.
“Some of the fish did not appear to be in good health.”
Xiaomieisha Ocean World said it was putting the robot on display because it is now banned from trading live whale sharks.
Images show the sea creature is clearly a man-made imitation, with holes in the body visibly showing different pieces connected together
The whale shark is the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual was 18.8 meters long.
The robotic shark reportedly cost millions of Chinese yuan to build.
Xiaomieisha Ocean World is not the first Chinese zoo where visitors feel cheated.
This is not the first time an animal adventure park has faced setbacks in China.
Last month, a Chinese zoo sparked outrage after painting dogs black and white and presenting them as pandas.
Visitors said they became suspicious when the ‘pandas’ in their enclosure started panting.
When questioned, the zoo admitted that they had painted two Chow Chows, a type of dog from northern China with a thick coat.
However, the zoo denied misleading people as they never claimed the dogs were pandas, instead explaining they were ‘panda dogs’.
Visitors have since demanded their money back from the Guangdong Shanwei park, which is said to be home to “rare and exotic animals.”
The Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province also sparked outrage in May when it also allegedly painted two small Chow Chow dogs to resemble pandas.
These dogs had their coats cut short before black and white dye was added to their faces and bodies.
The attraction was quickly slammed by locals who accused the zoo of animal cruelty.
The zoo defended displaying the “panda dogs” because they don’t have real animals for visitors to see.