Polishing the image of abandoned theme parks

Zhou started working on Times Paradise in 2018, when he stumbled into a deserted amusement park in Beijing.

"Seeing the rides and attractions sparked my childhood memories of visiting such amusement parks," he says.

"It pained me to see them lying dormant, because they were once the epitome of life, providing thrills and fun amid lights and noise," he adds.

He decided to carefully document the amusement park, which, after exploring the reasons behind the decline of the old fun parks, kicked off his long-term Times Paradise project.

"One of the main reasons was that they mostly lacked long-term planning and failed to keep up with the times," he says.

"Nonetheless, they are of sentimental value to me and were an important step in the development of the amusement parks we have today."

Moreover, Zhou wants his audience to pay more attention to those amusement parks that are struggling in a fiercely competitive market, so that they might enjoy a new lease of life.