GUANGZHOU, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The world's longest inverted roller coaster will start running during China's upcoming Spring Festival in an amusement park in this capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, offering the thrilling fun of falling 80 meters, the park said Tuesday.

    Xiong Xiaojie, assistant to the president of the Chimelong Paradise, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the one-km-long roller coaster, designed by Switzerland-based Bolliger and Mabillard for the park, will be safety tested on Jan. 28, and has a planned debut in China's most important festival, the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 7 this year.

Riders seek thrills on a roller coaster in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong province, on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008.(Photo:xkb.com.cn) Photo Gallery>>>

    "The 200 million-yuan (27 million U.S. dollars) roller coaster is one of the world's most expensive and the first of its kind introduced to China's mainland. It would offer fun-seekers an experience of a vertical drop of 80 meters, as high as a 30-story building," said Xiong.

    Bolliger and Mabillard invented the world's first inverted roller coaster in 1992. Since then, it has designed 71 roller coasters for theme parks around the world. The roller coasterit designed for Chimelong Paradise has three carriages capable of carrying 30 people at a time. Its highest speed is 120 km per hour.

    The Chimelong Paradise opened in Guangzhou in April, 2006, and has become one of the must-go tourist attractions in the city, for its sophisticated amusements.

    The privately-owned park, built for 1 billion yuan, covers 66 hectares, and can handle 50,000 tourists a day.

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