Madame Tussauds Wuhan

Covering an area of 1,551 square meters (about 1,855 square yards), Madame Tussauds Wuhan is located at Chuhehan Street of Wuchang District. Opened to the public on September 28, 2013, it is world’s fifteenth and China’s third Madame Tussauds after Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and Madame Tussauds Shanghai.

Currently, over 50 wax figures are exhibited in Madame Tussauds Wuhan, including Crystal Liu (an actress from Wuhan), Albert Einstein, Jackie Chan, Jay Chou (a singer from Taiwan), Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Li Na (a professional tennis player from Wuhan), Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Sandra Ng (an actress from Hong Kong). They are either local celebrities or foreign celebrities most likely to be recognized by local people.

Costing over one million Chinese yuan each, the wax figures in Madame Tussauds Wuhan are so vivid that they even have freckles and pores. To make such lifelike figures, the celebrities themselves need to be accurately measured. Over 250 items of data of the specific celebrity is collected and 180 photos are taken from each perspective, which usually takes about 2 hours. Then all this material is taken back to Madame Tussauds in London, where the wax figure is to be made.

The whole process to make a pair of artificial eyes takes up to fifteen hours. The process of making a set of teeth is more complicated. From molding to coloring, it is like tailor-making a set of false teeth for the celebrity him/her self. The hair for the head is real, collected from people with hair similar to that of the celebrity. Each hair is planted individually into the wax head by hand. It is then cut and styled to match that of the celebrity.

Arms and legs are moulded in the same way as the head. A stand of metal tubes, wires and fiber glass is made to support the wax figure much like the bones of a human body and the body is formed in the same way as the head.

Another important process of making a wax figure that needs to be mentioned is coloring. Skin tones are carefully reproduced to match those of the celebrity. At last the head and limbs are attached to the body and the figure is dressed, often in clothes donated by the person it represents. A truly life-like wax figure can then be displayed in the exhibition.
 

1. Take Metro Line 4 to Chuhe Hanjie.
2. Take bus 102 Express, 530, 540, 566, 577, 583, 618, 702, 723, 724, 729, 805, Trolleybus 1, 7 or 8 to Zhongbeilu Ditie Chuhe Hanjie.
Wuhan Bus / Metro Search