Despite the mixed reactions the operators of the Kunming Dwarf Park get, the tourist destination thrives. To meet the demands of increasing number of tourists who visit the park, the owner plans to add more workers from the current 100 to 2,000.
Besides providing a stable employment to China’s dwarves who otherwise would find it difficult to be hired in regular jobs, Chen Mingjing, the creator of the park and a real estate businessman, provides accommodation to his staff. The park is more than just a source of income for the dwarves but a community where the units and its facilities are adjusted according to their height.
The dwarves do not live on the park’s mushroom houses which were built for to create a movie-like set. They live in dormitories where the sinks and furniture suit their size. Single male dwarves are assigned to the first floor, the females on the second floor and the couples in studio rooms, China Daily reported.
Chen opened in 2009 the park where the dwarves participate in two daily shows. Some visitors, especially westerners, are critical of the park because they view it as a leftover of the Victorian freak show, according to The Guardian.
Sanne De Wilde, a Belgian photographer who made a photobook titled “The Dwarf Empire,” was mistaken for Snow White by visitors that she was constantly asked to join their group photos to simulate a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves scenario. At one point, when she could no longer take the requests, De Wilde just ran and hid with some people behind the façade.
De Wilde, a westerner of normal adult height, may have been frightened by the attention she got during her visit, but for the 100 dwarves there, being asked to pose for a selfie is a part of their daily life in the Dwarf Park which they enjoy as they do not feel any discrimination compared to the outside world.