Chinese netizens denounce opening of Christian theme park in Mao Zedong's home province

The opening of a 150,000-square-meter Christian theme park in Mao Zedong's home province of Hunan has drawn criticism from Chinese netizens after it was revealed that it was funded by the local government.

The Xingsha Ecological Park, located in Hunan's capital of Changsha, is said to be "the biggest Christian theme park in southern China," according to a report from What's On Weibo.

China Christian Daily reported that the park is home to the 80-meter high Xingsha Church as well as the Hunan Bible Institute. The main building of the church is reportedly shaped like a huge ark floating on water, and the streamlined skirt was made to appear like waves lifting the ark.

Dai Rihong, the representative of the ecological park's construction team, stated that the park was designed as a tourist attraction for citizens to shoot wedding photos. The website of Changsha indicated that the park was a government-sponsored project and was subcontracted to the Huashun Construction Project Management Co., Global Times reported.

Many social media users criticized the project and stressed that China is a secular society, and the construction of the park is inconsistent with the revolutionary history of the city.

One netizen wrote an article on WeChat expressing dismay at the fact that the Christian park was opened in the hometown of Mao, who was a convinced atheist.

Despite the criticisms, some have expressed their support for the opening of the park. "This is freedom of religion. If you don't like it, don't go there," said one commenter.

Another commenter lamented that the outrage over the theme park was unfair, saying: "When there are mosques built, nobody dares to say anything, but when other religions make something, you open your mouths. It's not right."

Others have expressed their concern about the taxpayer money used to fund the project.

"What on earth gave the Changsha government the right to use the taxpayers' money for a Christian project? Should it not be a public park instead of a religious place?" another netizen wrote, according to What's On Weibo.

A resident who lives nearby said that the park opened during the 2017 Spring Festival, which fell on Jan. 28 this year, and many of its visitors were families. The church inside the park will be operational in June 2017.