One of the highlights at OCT Group’s new water park in Xiangyang, China, which opened earlier this summer, is a world-first, eight-lane Mat Racer slide complex, built by German manufacturer Wiegand.Waterrides.
Made entirely of stainless steel, the multi-lane slide starts at a height of 15 metres. Each of the eight lanes is 120 metres long with an average gradient of 15%. The guests slide head-first on their belly down on special mats.
Riders compete with their competitors in a parallel race through a 360° helix and several fast-paced waves. Maximum speeds of 11m/s can be reached.
Similar slides, but with fewer lanes, can also be found in Germany at the Badeparadies Titisee, Black Forest, or the world’s largest indoor waterpark, Therme Erding near Munich.
In addition to the eight-speed racer, Wiegand.Waterrides also supplied a 20-metre-long family tumble wave slide made of stainless steel and two ‘Cannonball’ attractions.
These are the first two catapult slides of their type in China. With the Cannonball, the swimmer is catapulted several metres through the air by water pressure from their seat, before landing in the water some 14 feet away.
“We are very proud to be part of this gigantic project and to have built one of the water park’s largest slide attractions. It is also the first stainless steel racer slide in China”, says managing director Hendrik Wiegand. “China is and remains an important market for us. Quality from Germany is very appreciated there.”
Stainless steel slides are sustainable, the material needs very low maintenance and the slides are welded without joints.
According to the TEA Global Attractions Attendance Report, OCT Parks China is the top operator in Asia, with 49,350,000 visitors in 2018. Its partnership with the Wiegand company dates back to 2009 when a dual-lane, 880m bobsleigh track in Park OCT Shenzhen was built. Wiegand is currently working with OCT on a new indoor water park.