Chinese dwarves say ‘little people’ theme park allows them equality and respect
Fantasy world peopled by dwarves has drawn criticism but performers say they are happy to be with their peers
A commercial theme park in southwestern China that has been criticised for discrimination for featuring dwarves as performers is seen as a shelter by its workers.
The Kingdom of the Little People in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, was established by a Sichuan businessman in 2009, and drew controversy over its shows being performed only by dwarves, chinanews.com reported.
The more than 100 performers, who are each less than 130 cm tall, dance and sing on stage, portraying a “fantasy world”.
When not performing, they live in dormitories with child-sized furniture but otherwise lead normal lives.
The park receives employment applications from around the nation and the performers said they were satisfied with the equality and respect provided by their work, the report said.
Liu Rui, a 20-year-old woman who has lived and worked at the theme park for two years, said she had become more outgoing since moving there.
“People are all the same here and [we are] happy to live together as there is no discrimination and we can help each other,” she was quoted as saying.
Another performer, Li Yingan, aged 27, met and married his wife at the park.
“We will stay here as long as it’s appropriate,” he said, adding that they might return to one of their hometowns to run a small business when they got old.
