It's a small world: the Kingdom of the Little People
The Kingdom of the Little People stands accused of exploiting its workers, many of whom the Yunnan theme park has given an income and independence that were denied them elsewhere, writes Simon Parry
Far, far away, there is a magical land where little people laugh and play all day long. It's a place where no one ever grows up, where everyone is Happy and no one ever seems to get Grumpy.
It might sound like a land of make-believe or a scene from the movie Shrek, but that is the fantasy being sold by the Kingdom of the Little People, a theme park in rural Yunnan province that boasts what must be the world's biggest concentration of dwarves: some 140 of them.
Aged from 18 to 40 and ranging in height from just over two feet to four feet, three inches small, the dwarves live in a mountainside commune of mushroom-shaped homes and perform a daily song and dance routine for a trickle of visitors.
For a 100 yuan (HK$125) entrance fee, tourists can watch in wonder and bemusement as dwarves dressed in tutus, butterfly wings and costumes from imperial China perform a series of slapstick routines on an open-air stage.
Opened in 2009, the Kingdom of the Little People, in countryside near Kunming, has arguably drawn more ferocious barbs of criticism than it has visitors, with outraged overseas pressure groups labelling it cruel and exploitative.
Its detractors include British actor and celebrity dwarf Warwick Davis and the United States-based dwarfism support group Little People of America, which branded it "horrible" and asked, "What is the difference between this and a zoo?"
Davis, 44, who has appeared in the Harry Potter and Star Wars film franchises, lambasted the park on British television show An Idiot Abroad: "It's like going back to the days of the freak show. They're all in there together and you're going in there to gawp at them, basically. I think it's terrible. It's segregation. It's exploitation."