Another giant water park of the OCT Group was opened on June 26, 2020 in Xiangyang, China. With 60 theme and water parks, OCT is the largest group in the industry in Asia.
One of the highlights in the water park is what is said to be the world’s first 8-lane Mat Racer which is made entirely of stainless steel. This huge slide complex was built by Wiegand.Waterrides GmbH, Germany.
This particular multi-lane slide starts at a height of 15 meters. Each of the eight lanes is 120 meters long with an average gradient of 15%. The guests slide head-first on their belly down on special mats.
Here they compete with their competitors in a parallel race through a 360 ° helix and several fast-paced waves. Maximum speeds of 11m/s can be reached.
Similar slides, but with fewer lanes, can also be found in Germany at the Badeparadies Titisee, Black Forest, or the world’s largest indoor waterpark, Therme Erding near Munich.
In addition to the 8-speed racer, Wiegand.Waterrides GmbH also supplied a 20-meter-long family tumble wave slide made of stainless steel and two “Cannonball” attractions.
These are the first 2 catapult slides of this type in China. With the “Cannonball”, the swimmer is catapulted several meters through the air by water pressure from his seat just before landing in the water some 14ft away.
“We are very proud to be part of this gigantic project and to have built one of the water park’s largest slide attractions. It is also the first stainless steel racer slide in China”, said managing director Hendrik Wiegand. “China is and remains an important market for us. Quality from Germany is very appreciated there”. Depending on the customer, the slides are individually handcrafted in the factory in central Germany. Stainless steel slides are sustainable, the material needs very low maintenance and the slides are welded without joints. According to the TEA Global Attractions Attendance Report, OCT Parks China is No. 1 in Asia with 49,350,000 visitors in 2018. The cooperation with the Wiegand company dates back to 2009 when a dual-lane, 880 m bobsleigh track in Park OCT Shenzhen was built. The company is currently working with OCT on a new indoor water park.
