Nov 6 2007Great Wheel of China Ferris Wheel Is Huge
China is constructing the world's largest Ferris Wheel. It was supposed to be ready for the summer games, but apparently won't open until 2009. It will have 48 separate gondola-like pods, each capable of holding 40 passengers (for a total of 1920 people at one time!), and will reach a maximum height of 680 feet. Making it significantly taller than any other. I'm just hoping a ride isn't as painful as watching this thing. Now I'm not recommending you jump out of this Ferris Wheel at its max height, I'm just saying I know a kid that got a year pass to Disney for falling out of Space Mountain.
World's tallest Ferris Wheel coming up in China [newlaunches]
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Reader Comments
1. The Moat - November 6, 2007 10:14 AM
1,920 People? I know how long it takes to get 40 people on/off an airplane, and I'm terrified of how long it would take to actually load this thing is, let alone actually ride it for a few turns.
$20 says that by the time you finish loading Pod #48, Pods 1-4 all have to pee.
2. boredom - November 6, 2007 10:26 AM
is it me or do the gondolas look like they don't hang freely, is the thing upside down when you reach the top?
3. NCProsecutor - November 6, 2007 11:25 AM
Dude, the original Ferris wheel debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and had 36 cars with a carrying capacity of 60 people each. Which means that the original Ferris wheel could hold 2,160 people. The Chinese wheel *is* more than twice as tall as the original wheel, but the number of people it can carry isn't really that exceptional.
4. elkiev71 - November 6, 2007 11:30 AM
Moat/Boredom,
I assumes this works just like the London Eye.
The pods rotate rather than hang and therefore always stay level. The wheel also constantly rotates at a very slow speed (even as you get on/get off) the point being to catch the view during one slow rotation rather than many fast rotations.
5. Joel Rifkin - November 6, 2007 11:51 AM
I hope the thing collapses killing total of 1920 people at one time!
6. Chris - November 6, 2007 2:19 PM
Joel,
With China's shady quality control, it's just a matter of time.
7. Thorvaldur - November 6, 2007 5:46 PM
This is unbelievable, I would shi* my pants
8. Saturn - November 6, 2007 11:34 PM
Probably painted with lead paint, just like everything else they make.
9. Jubtastic1 - November 7, 2007 8:51 AM
They should call it 'the great wheel of flattery"
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=london%20eye
10. Jackid - November 7, 2007 2:23 PM
Is it just me or does it remarkably resemble the Paramount logo?
11. id - November 8, 2007 2:55 AM
i'd prefer some larger spokes. and a parachute.