Operation of a US$72m (€52.5m, £42.7m) clock tower theme park in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China, has been suspended after only four years, with facility operators citing poor visitor numbers.

According to a report by Chinese news agency ECNS, the attraction’s owners predicted the local tourism industry would benefit from an estimated CY13m (US$2m, €1.5m, £1.2m) annual income. The reality saw a very low number of visitors, generating only CY300,000 (US$48,100, €35,100, £28,600) in annual income since it was put into operation in 2010.

The 113m (370ft) high Harmony Clock Tower was at the heart of a development which includes part business, part residential and a part horologically (the science of clocks) themed park.

A spokesman for the Ganzhou Expressway Company, which developed the park, said it originally chose a mechanical clock because it wanted a historical feel and turned to UK company Smith of Derby to construct it on the advice of experts. The firm hoped the tower would be "morally improving" as well as useful.

"Not only will it record the time, but it will also remind people not to waste their time," said the spokesman, speaking in 2010.