A Decade of Unwavering Popularity: Grandsight Adventure Island Water World
Covering an area of about 200,000 square meters, Grandsight Adventure Island Water World in Lishui, China （浙江丽水冒险岛水世界）stands as the largest world-class water park in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Since opening in 2013, it has welcomed over 4.2 million guests. Today, it remains a favourite weekend getaway and the ultimate summer destination for visitors in Zhejiang province. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, we invited Mr. Chen Gengqing, the park’s general manager, to reflect and share the secrets of success in the past decade.
Filling the gap in the golden economic circle
Lishui, a city surrounded by rolling peaks and abundant water resources, is known as the “Green Valley of Zhejiang.” Within a 2.5-hour drive lie Wenzhou, Jinhua, Taizhou, Hangzhou, and other populous towns, making it a perfect weekend destination for families from these busy cities.
By the first half of 2010, Lishui’s tourism revenue was already exceeding 5 billion RMB. That was when Mr. Shao Ye, the investor of Adventure Island Water World, began looking into global renowned amusement projects with his team and concluded that Lishui’s climate and market made it perfect for a water park. He also found that most high-quality water parks in the world chose to collaborate with WhiteWater, a leading designer and manufacturer in the industry. Aiming for a world-class destination to draw visitors from the over 20 million people living within a 200-kilometer radius and beyond, Mr. Shao Ye and his team decided to partner with WhiteWater to create this first-rate water park.
“The partnership between Grandsight Adventure Island Water World and WhiteWater is successful and pleasant. WhiteWater’s products and services align well with our positioning and vision. Their products are of high quality and the guest experiences are excellent. We benefit from WhiteWater’s global reputation. I’ve recommended WhiteWater’s products to many friends in the industry with one simple reason — they are of good quality, with long-lasting colours, and require easy maintenance. It’s a must to have WhiteWater’s products if you aim to build a high-quality water park.”
Mr. Chen Gengqing, General Manager, Grandsight Adventure Island Water World
The design that creates magical memories
WhiteWater provided concept and schematic designs for Grandsight Adventure Island Water World, including master plans, area development and landscape design, character sketches, and overall theming.
The park itself is located on a 17-hectare island in the middle of the Oujiang River. The surrounding scenery includes lush cliffs on the north bank. “To design a water park in such a site that does not detract from its natural beauty but instead, seeks to enhance it, was a pleasant challenge,” said Wojciech Walczynski, Design Team Lead at WhiteWater. “Our talented team held a site design workshop with the client group and presented a water park development plan that was in keeping with the client’s objectives and addressed the unique characteristics of the site.”
The effort resulted in an excellent mix of rides and attractions in a park that can entertain up to 30,000 people, drawing both new and loyal repeat visitors from the region.
“We are proud to have designed a beautiful park that is both a place for family fun and thrills as well as a place of natural beauty,” said Wojciech.
Original themes and immersive experiences
The water park has a historic castle theme that brings visitors to the era of the knights through a European-style fortress.
“A massive drawbridge and themed gate draw visitors into the park and present an enchanting experience within the castle and fortress setting. The main support buildings and changerooms and services form the body of the castle feature, which provides the main focus for the entry, “ shared Wojciech. “The park is further enhanced with landscape and out buildings, which share this ‘knights of old’ theme and carry the historic feel throughout the park with a pallet of rich details, colours, and materials that set the overall feel for the park.” 
Layout for elevated experience and operation
WhiteWater’s design laid a solid foundation for the park’s long-term success. From attractions to maintenance to retail and F&B, the layout ensured guests can have a memorable day at the park and the operator can maximize revenue potentials. “We strategically placed attractions and facilities with consideration of visitor flow and sights. We want the guests to be able to easily locate and access wherever they want to go,” explained Wojciech. “Also, large trees provide natural shading throughout the park, complementing the colourful slides.”
The attractions that brings fun for all ages
Repeat visitation is highly related to whether the park offers a good time for every member of the family. WhiteWater provided Grandsight Adventure Island Water World with a number of iconic attractions, including a FusionFortress, racing slides, high-thrill slides, splash toys, and a FlowRider® surf simulator, offering different levels of thrills for visitors of all ages.
Aquatic Play
FusionFortress 10 offers 9 different water slides, 280 play elements, and multiple tipping buckets, allowing families hours of immersive fun together. “WhiteWater’s FusionFortress is my favourite. It combines interactive elements and various water slide experiences suitable for both adults and children. The capacity is large. Everyone can have fun here,” shared Mr. Chen Gengqing. 
Racing Slides
“Six Octopus” is a 15-meter high 6-lane Whizzard, where riders are dispatched into high-speed AquaTubes that twist and turn 360 degrees before a surprise drop into open lanes for exciting racing action. The competitive fun prompts guests to ride it again and again.
Thrill Slides
The two high-thrill slides are attractions for the brave. AquaLoop starts with a plummet that accelerates riders around a complete loop at a 45-degree angle. The 22-meter high Freefall is an open water slide with a straight steep drop. The sight of the intense and thrilling slide experiences enhance the anticipation for guests waiting in line.
FlowRider
Grandsight Adventure Island Water World introduced one of the first FlowRider Doubles in Asia, providing guests with a unique surf experience as well as a skill-based activity inside a water park.
Kids’ Area
Parents know that kids play a significant role when it comes to family holidays. Adding to existing kids’ slides, the park collaborated with WhiteWater again for its expansion and further developed the kids’ area by adding a series of splash toys, which allowed toddlers to have their fun.
The quality that ensured long-term smooth operation
Year after year, Grandsight Adventure Island Water World has remained a top pick for visitors in the YRD since opening in 2013. It has been listed as one of the “must-visit destinations in Lishui” on Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency. Reflecting on the secret of success, Mr. Chen Gengqing said, “We valued the attraction quality and guest experience both during the construction phase and for the operation phase. And we have kept elevating these factors season after season.” The outcome is obvious, as in most guest reviews, “excellent quality and service” was repeatedly mentioned.
The vision of Grandsight Adventure Island Water World is to “create infinite joy for visitors.” It aligns perfectly with WhiteWater’s vision of “creating places where fun thrives.”
“When we were selecting partners, WhiteWater impressed us with their high-quality products. For over a decade, my favourite FusionFortress remained shining and bright. The endless positive guest reviews also proved that our choice was right,” Mr. Chen Gengqing said.
