Boasting charming rides and themed attractions, the Merry-Land Resort Theme Park is a bit like Southern China’s answer to Disneyland — except for the hordes of miniskirt-wearing women being hosed down by their fellow patrons.
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The miniskirts are the product of a summer marketing campaign aimed at attracting more visitors. The park offers a half-price discount to all women wearing skirts shorter than 38 inches—and it takes the gimmick very seriously: Staff members wait at the park entrance armed with rulers and anything other than a miniskirt (like a short dress or hot pants) need not apply. “The stipulation aims to encourage female visitors to showcase their beauty in summer,” the park’s deputy manager, Li Wenxing, told Shanghai Daily. The park also encourages patrons to throw water on the mini-skirted women, as part of what it calls a summer “water splashing festival.”
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Li says that visitor numbers have soared since the campaign was implemented. But nearby residents aren’t too happy about the ploy, as some believe that the campaign is encouraging women to “behave erotically” in public.