For any true chocolate lover, the Chocolate Wonderland theme park that opened last week in Beijing is a criminal waste of good cocoa.
About 80,000 kilograms of imported Belgian chocolate has been hand-sculpted into a Willy Wonka world with Chinese characteristics. There are hundreds of chocolate terracotta warriors, a life-sized chunk of the Great Wall, Buddha figurines, a fudgy-looking laptop, a Prada bag and a life-sized BMW.
However, it will all be thrown out once the park closes in April. Not a single piece will be eaten.
Mainlanders, however, are unlikely to feel the loss: most have yet to acquire an appetite for chocolate. On average, each Chinese person consumes about 90 grams of chocolate per year, according to market research firm, Euromonitor. That is tiny compared with about 5kg consumed per person per year in the US and 10kg in Switzerland.
Chocolate companies are wrestling against culture, history and taste, trying to turn mainlanders into chocoholics. While it may be a struggle, there are strong signs that the younger generation of Chinese is turning sweet on chocolate.
Beijing Artsource Planning, the firm behind Chocolate Wonderland, hopes to use the theme park to drum up domestic demand. Their sponsors include Italian firm Ferrero and Swiss chocolate maker Lindt.