A carnival named "Happy" could not have chosen a less appropriate name.

Fuzhou Happy International Carnival, the first touring amusement event to come to the city, capital of east China's Fujian Province, was ordered to shut down on Wednesday as it was operating illegally.

Despite claiming to be the city's largest amusement park, the carnival, which opened January 14, did not even have a business licence, according to Fujian Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The park did not obtain approval from relevant departments concerning sanitation, environmental protection and public security, said Chen Zhanghua, an official with the bureau.

In order to attract more visitors, the sponsor started a promotion claiming to offer prizes including an apartment worth 300,000 yuan (US$37,267), plus a car.

"The sponsor had claimed the prizes were in total worth 500,000 yuan (US$62,112), but none of them are available now, so they appear to be cheating consumers," Chen said.

Furthermore, a single prize valued at higher than 5,000 yuan (US$621) would be breaking the nation's relevant unfair competition law.

Also, some of the equipment was found to have a dubious safety record, Chen added.

"At the beginning, I was really attracted by the outdoor advertisements, which I saw at the end of last year," said Zou Li, a local man. "After all, large-scale rides are rare in my city, and they are really fun for young people."

"But later, I totally lost interest because I heard so many negative things about it."

The carnival's preparations were not smooth, as some of the large-scale equipment was not checked by the city's quality and technical supervision department.

During its short operation period, two accidents occurred and at least five people were injured.

"We've had a really tough time since we opened," said Lin Xinquan, spokesman of the event's sponsor Happy Entertainment International Co Ltd. "Too many negative things have affected our business."

So far, ticket revenues have reached just 5 million yuan (US$621,000), much lower than the anticipated 30 million yuan (US$3.73 million), Lin said.

(China Daily February 24, 2006)