Lasers light up Chinese theme park

07 Mar 2003

An impressive array of laser and lighting effects is attracting visitors to China's dinosaur park near Shanghai.

Breathtaking laser displays and light effects are central to a new multimedia theatre that recently opened at a theme park in China. The Chinese Dinosaur Park near Shanghai combines laser light with, water screens, fountains and holographic images to create a stunning 20-minute light show dedicated to the prehistoric era.

Welcome lights

LOBO electronic, a German firm specializing in laser display technology, spent 18 months preparing and designing the state-of-the-art light effects. The Aalen-based firm says that much of the work was prepared at its studios in Aalen in advance and then integrated into the theme park in the space of just a few days.

Floating dinosaurs

A crucial element of the show is a 20 m wide high-density water screen onto which serves as a backdrop for a series of spectacular images created by LOBO's laser and video projectors. The clever use of mirrors also creates impressive 3-dimensional images of giant dinosaurs. According to a spokesman for LOBO, two Coherent PureLight Star Lasers (mixed gas / white light gas ion lasers), each delivering up to 5.5 W of optical power have been used in the installation.

Dinosaur display

LOBO was founded in 1982 by Lothar Bopp and has won a string of artistic awards for its laser shows. At the year 2000 millennium celebrations in Berlin, more than 2 million spectators gathered to watch a LOBO laser show at the city's famous Brandenburg gate.

Author
Oliver Graydon is editor of Optics.org and Opto & Laser Europe magazine.