Epcot World Showcase Best Kept Secrets – China

Did you enjoy some authentic German beer or Bratwurst on last months Best Kept Secrets from Germany? See the little boy and girl come out of the cuckoo clock in Germany? As we continue down the World showcase our next stop is China.

• As you enter into China, you walk through a Paifang gate, which is  a traditional Chinese architecture gating style as an arch.

• The Temple of Heaven is a 1/2 size re-creation of the Beijing original landmark and houses the 360 degree movie Reflections of China.

• The original movie Wonders of China was replaced in May of 2003 with Reflections of China, which included updated pictures of many of the landmarks in the original and every bit of footage of Shangai had been replaced.

Filming the Wonders of China proved to be quite challenging for the crew.  For one sequence on Huangshan Mountain, the crew and 40 laborers had to carry the three-hundred pound camera and other equipment to the top, over a mile in height.

• Many of the architectural details, both outside and in, have important significance to the Chinese people. Inside the hall, there are 12 outer columns supporting the roof. They represent the 12 year cycle of the Chinese calendar and the 12 months of the year. Close to the center of the room, you will see 4 columns representing the 4 seasons. All these columns support a beam, which is supposed to represent Earth, which is topped by a round beam that signifies Heaven.

We have sat and watched this movie many times, not only is very interesting, it is a great place to just sit and cool for a few minutes.

• The temple is acoustically perfect. You can stand exactly in the middle of the room, and your voice will echo back to you.

Your voice sounds different to other people than it does when you hear it in your head, so this is a chance to hear what your “real” voice sounds like.

• The Dragon Legends acrobats will perform throughout the day and always tend to draw a pretty big crowd.

• There is a replica of the Terracotta Army, which was discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi’an Shaanxi province. The original figures date back to approximately 210 BC.

• The Chinese pavilion features a very loosely structured landscaping. There is no feeling of being outside or inside the garden. They are designed to be still and passive, just like the meditation pool. Plants are used sparingly, concentrating on using accent plants with unusual color. The Zoysia grass is left alone to grow as it would look in China. Several fruit trees (orange, plum and pomegranate are included in the landscaping).

The Weeping Mulberry, is supposed to represent a tree you might find in China, it is actually over 100 years old and was found in New Jersey.

• In order to replicate the intricate tile work patterns on the original Temple of Heaven, the Imaginears screen printed hundreds of exact replications of it’s detailed patterns onto each and every tile.

• You can meet Mulan and Mushu here throughout the day.

• The pavilion served as the backdrop for the music video of the song “Reflection“, performed by a then-unknown Christina Aguilera, from the 1998 Disney film Mulan.

Have you seen Mulan or Mushu here? Did you get to hear your “real” voice? What do you think of China and the gardens?

In case you missed them here are the past Best Kept Series Articles

• Germany
• Italy
• America
• Canada
• Japan
• France

Join us next time we head over to Norway and see what kind of trolls we can find.

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Who is your Travel Agent?(Required)

Let us pick for youEric HilesStacy ReedAbbey JohnsonAlisa SullivanAlli WillisAmanda FolsomAmanda VannAmber BrillhartAmber FisherAmy SieburnAndrea SmithAngela AndersonAngie BaycuraAnna PetrilliAnnabelle DuboseApril StefanskiAshley RamseyBeth ParsonsBetsy SantoroBrandie McQueenBrian BuckleyBridget HatchBryan SchwartzCandice SneedCarrie ButlerCarson DockumCasey BoltCharleen HortonChelsea RoyChelsea WuebkerChris BoyerChristie GrubeChristina FratturaChristina SmithCourtney WhiteCraig YoderDan MercedDanielle NorcrossDarby MouritsenDavid ForrestDeborah AlvaradoEmilee BiegelEmily MorrisFaith HakesGail HatchGreg MatzkerHelen HummerHolly CurryJackie CavistonJaclyn PepitoneJamie SwansonJeanine JordanJeff CallahanJenni MaierJennifer BrownJennifer StephensonJennifer StoessnerJessica HatfieldJessica HuffJessica WunderJoe GuertinJon CarpentierJoseph SliwaJulie McCombJustin BrownKat AttridgeKathryn EberhartKathy AndersonKatie HarrellKatie PrevotKayla CookKelsey SullensKim HelmsKimberly HutchinsonKristi GallagherKyle RamsdenLauren DewlenLeanne MonterLinda DurhamLindsay AckermannLindsey VromanLissette BritoLori HardyMallory MorrisonMandi QuinnMaranda PerkinsMarisa AlvaradoMegan TeismannMeghan BlairMelissa ReedMichele KlineMike BeyerMissy McCormickMisty DickersonNancy CasteelNicole ThorntonPatrick O'ConnorPaul SulPeyton Ward-KubikRaylene CooganRegan OstranderRobbie BulusRobert ThomasSara SolbergSarah McCandlishShanna BrowningShelley BennettShelly MetzStacy CristStacy KrzyminskiStacy SmithStephanie DraganoStephanie FerencStephanie WalshSusannah McCordTara SlusserTerri MillerTiffany DobraskiTiffany DrenkhahnTina FarmerTonya LesiukTracy DaneTroy DuncanVeronica RenteriaVicki FesslerWendy CarllWendy HauserWendy KellehanWendy Shelley

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Destination(Required)

Walt Disney WorldDisneyland ResortDisney Cruise LineAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaUniversal FloridaUniversal HollywoodRoyal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian or other Cruise LineI don't know yet

# of Adults(Required)

# of Children(Required)

Check-in-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Check-out-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Comments, Questions or Special Requests

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!