Postcard: Shenzhen
10 December 2007
Time

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Happy Valley contains over 50 attractions.

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Happy Valley in Beijing is modeled on a western park with six "lands": Firth Forest, Aegean Sea, Atlantis, Lost Maya, Shangri-La and Ant Kingdom, shown in this photo.

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Shenzhen's Windows of the World park recreates the entire planet, in small, easily digested sections. In this photo, the heads of Kon-Tiki can be glimpsed behind Manhattan's pre-9/11 skyline.

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A Chinese man wears a replica of a space suit, at the Space Travel Theme Park in Beijing. The capsule behind him is a copy of the U.S. Mercury module.

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A genuine Soviet aircraft carrier is the main attraction at the Minsk World theme park in Shenzhen. The vessel features models of its original weapons system and MiG fighter jets on the flying deck.

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A woman and her son enter a pyramid at Beijing's Egyptian Theme Park.

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A performer breathes fire at Guilin's Merryland. The complex includes a five star hotel and golf course.

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Three jockeys pilot ostriches down a racecourse at the Wild Animal Park in Shanghai.

As the Chinese middle class expands, so does its curious appetite for foreign-themed amusement parks. Behind the scenes at China's very own Swiss alpine resort.

Lederhosen, fondue and dried-seaweed snacks? Guten Tag from Shenzhen! Nestled in rolling hills outside this southern boomtown is China's very own version of Interlaken. No detail of the famed Swiss alpine resort appears to have been ignored in this local facsimile, from ski chalets, mineral baths and roasting sausages to the fräulein in braids who greets you on arrival. Perhaps the only thing missing from this Chinese alpine idyll is, well, snow.

The resort, known as OCT East, is just the latest of dozens of foreign-themed parks springing up all over China. Shanghai has its Weimar Village, Beijing has Greek villas, and Hong Kong has its very own Disneyland--all built in hopes of cashing in on the deepening pockets of a growing middle class eager to absorb Western culture. Tourism revenue now accounts for 6% of China's GDP (or more than $600 billion), and the industry is expected to grow 10% annually for the next five years. The World Tourism Organization predicts China will be the globe's largest tourism market by 2020

Shenzhen's Interlaken offers Chinese tourists a little taste of Europe closer to home. Its developer, Shenzhen OCT Sanzhou Investment, has sunk nearly $450 million into the park's 2,200 acres (890 hectares). Located on a crystal-clear man-made lake, the centerpiece is a 300-room, five-star hotel with a Gothic cathedral lobby and an Austrian chef. The drive for authenticity is relentless: last summer an alpine songfest even brought yodelers to the resort. You can tour the property aboard an antique railroad that circles it, or view it from the highest summit--some 50 ft. (15 m) above--before plunging down the slope on the gondola cum roller coaster. Says hotel event manager Selina Liu: "All of our guests say they forget they're not in Europe."

That may be an exaggeration. After all, the vast majority of OCT East's visitors and its 3,000-person staff are ethnically Chinese--there just aren't that many Europeans on hand--and Shenzhen's average annual temperature is 75ºF (24ºC). A recent passenger on the scenic railroad snacked on boiled chicken feet, a local delicacy unlikely to be found in the Alps. Down a short path from the Swiss village is a working Chinese tea plantation, and each afternoon the development's 1,300-seat theater sells out its Zen Tea Show. Performed against the world's largest LCD screen, this hour-long spectacle combines ballet, kung fu and dancing teapots while reminding the audience of China's Buddhist roots. A mountaintop temple is being built nearby to ensure the resort's feng shui, and reminders of modern China are everywhere within the alpine resort itself. One of those quaint Swiss chalets is, in fact, a KFC outlet, while that "mist" rising from the hills is actually smog.

The anticipated bonanza has yet to materialize for OCT East's investors, however. Since it opened in the summer, the resort has averaged about 2,000 visitors per day--about 4,000 fewer than the developers had hoped to attract during peak periods. But even more established theme parks have also struggled to attract visitors. In its first year, Hong Kong's Disneyland, which opened in September 2005, had about 15,000 visitors per day, about 40% of its capacity. And guests have complained about long lines and high prices at the amusement park. "It wasn't what I hoped for," says Alex Xu, who recently visited the park from Beijing. "I'd rather save my money and go to the real Disney World someday."

In a country where per capita annual income remains below $2,000, OCT East's $20 entrance fee is an extravagance for many. Still, a local visitor, Zhang Zihua, says she'll return. "I want to bring my daughter," Zhang says. "I want her to work hard to travel to Europe when she's older." To lure the 10-year-old, Zhang is taking home an irresistible souvenir: a box of imported Swiss chocolates.

Looks nice.

wow!!!!.......stunning place!!

amazing theme park...


love it

that is awesome......

Really cool.

Zhuhai's ocean park passes green test
Marine attraction nearer to construction
11 April 2009
South China Morning Post

Zhuhai has moved one step closer to getting a massive ocean-themed entertainment centre, said to be the largest in Asia.

The 143-hectare Zhuhai Chime-Long Ocean World passed its preliminary environmental impact assessment on Wednesday, according to an announcement posted yesterday on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's South China Institute of Environmental Science.

Preparation work is under way for a more detailed environmental study before construction begins in December. The project is expected to be completed in 2012.

A Zhuhai Chime-Long investment company plans to invest up to 3.05 billion yuan (HK$3.46 billion) in the park, the environmental impact assessment revealed.

The investment company belongs to Chime-Long Group, a theme park conglomerate based in Guangzhou's Panyu district.

The group runs a water theme park, a night-time zoo, a crocodile park, a wildlife park and several hotels in Guangdong.

The company declined to comment on the Zhuhai project, but a staff member involved said it was reportedly to be the biggest in Asia in terms of area.

Ocean World will have an ocean circus, night safari, convention centre, hotels and residential buildings, according to the Macao Daily News.

It will apparently be developed in several phases, with the first one entirely on land.

The park will be built on Zhuhai's Hengqin Island, which Beijing has designated as a base for the diversification of Macau's economy.

Just a few hundred metres from Macau's Cotai Strip, Hengqin is three times the size of Macau but has fewer than 7,000 residents. The place is well known for oyster breeding.

Hong Kong's Ocean Park is spending about HK$5.5 billion to redevelop its facilities.

A tourism expert in Hong Kong said he was not worried by the potential competition the new park could pose to Hong Kong's Ocean Park.

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of Hong Kong's Travel Industry Council, said: "Whether an ocean park is attractive or not depends very much on its facilities and whether it can provide a good education for kids.

"Size is not everything. I believe it will provide extra incentive for our park to be even better."

A Hong Kong Ocean Park spokeswoman said more theme parks in the region would provide customers with more choices and benefit their leisure lives.

Ocean Park was confident it would continue to thrive because of its unique attractions, she said.

Oyster restaurants in the neighbourhood of the future Zhuhai Ocean World said the city government had told them to move before the end of this year, to pave way for the theme park's construction.

"The government still hasn't told us how they will compensate us," a restaurant manager said.

Do Chinese like western world so much that they copy it?

And why on earth do they copy American space theme? They have their own space program. LOL

Life's a beach as summer and sand add to a festival of fun and frolics
20 June 2009
Shanghai Daily

It's approaching that time of the year again when it's good to sneak out of the sultry summer heat of the downtown area and take a dip in cool sea water, time to switch off the aircon and take a stroll along a sandy beach.

If you are looking for a quick getaway from Shanghai to enjoy sun and surf, Sunny Beach (Bi Hai Jin Sha in Chinese) in Fengxian District just might be the ideal destination.

A two-month beach festival, featuring an international animation carnival, will be held this summer in the district's Haiwan Tourism Zone, a scenic bay area located in the city's southernmost tip. It runs from July 3 through the whole summer holiday till the end of August, and will probably be extended to early September.

The annual animation gala will include Cosplay shows, a beach beauty contest, rock band performances, concerts by pop stars from Hong Kong and China's mainland, animation films and dance performances by Taiwanese aborigines.

An area of more than 30,000 square meters has been set aside for the festival, including a rain forest theme park, a well-equipped chidren's zone, a square for video game fans and an open-air animation exhibition hall.

As well, a Gourmets' Town housing more than 120 restaurants and bars will be open this summer.

The animation carnival starts next month and will run the whole summer.

It is expected to attract more than 1 million tourists to the beach.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the lucky draw. Each night at 8pm during the festival there will be a draw from the day's admission tickets. Each night the very lucky ticket holder will win a car.

Runners-up will be given two Shanghai-Malaysia round-trip airline tickets, and third-prize winners will get electric bikes.

It is a good way to boost the bay's tourism industry this summer, says Xu Jianjun, a spokesman for the local government. "This animation festival, for the first time, combines the fashion industry, showbiz and beach tourism."

The festival's traditional Cosplay contest will be joined more than 120 teams from Japan, South Korea and China.

The Beach Beauty Competition will see more than 200 attractive young ladies parading their assets along the beach.

August will feature a Japanese Animation Festival, a very important part of the fun. Everyday from 9am to midnight, fans can get up close and comfortable with their favorite cartoon characters ¨® the omnipotent blue machine cat Doraemon, the mischievous Crayon Shin-Chan or the cute lazy Sakura Momoko.

The rain forest theme park will introduce some Chinese-made animation films to display and help boost the lackluster domestic animation industry.

The price of admission this year has risen steeply. Tickets from Monday to Friday will cost 120 yuan (US$17.70) and at the weekend will be 160 yuan, a big jump compared with last year's 50 yuan and 80 yuan admission costs.

To facilitate transport, shuttle bus lines between the city center and the beach will be launched from the Xinzhuang Metro Station, the Shanghai Stadium, the Shanghai Tourist Transport Center, the Yuanshen Stadium in Pudong New Area, and Huaihai and Xizang roads.

Sunny Beach boasts a long coastline, 654,700 square meters of water, 47,100 square meters of green belt and 70,000 square meters of man-made beach based on more than 120,000 tons of sand, transported from Hainan Island.

Tents, cabins and wooden paths are found along the beach. In the south, the 680,000 square meters of blue sea is set aside for sailing. The western area of the beach is a water sports zone, covering 1.51 million square meters.

The dock can accommodate up to 20 yachts, and tourists can enjoy a yacht ride or take a cruise in a motorboat.

I'm a themepark and rollercoaster fan and I think Azia realy is making great progres when it comes to themeparks and rollercoaster constructions!

A challenge of biblical proportions for Disney
6 November 2009
SCMP

Can Pirates of the Caribbean compete with the parting of the Red Sea in the mainland's theme park popularity stakes?

Hong Kong businessman Leung Moon-lam and a group of fellow Christians are planning to build a 4.5 billion yuan (HK$5.1 billion) Bible and Chinese culture theme park on a 2.3 square kilometre site in Tieling, Liaoning province.

With the world focused on the construction of a Disney theme park in Shanghai, Leung and his fellow Harmony World developers say Mickey Mouse does not have to be the only choice for mainlanders.

While young visitors to Disney will have to be satisfied with Space Mountain and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Harmony World will have Noah's Ark, David fighting Goliath and Moses parting the Red Sea.

Harmony World will be the first project of its kind in the world, according to Yan Fook Church senior pastor Patrick So Wing-chi, who came up with the idea with Leung.

There are some biblical theme parks such as The Holy Land Experience in the US, but So said there was nothing combining Christianity with Chinese culture.

Sun Hung Kai Properties opened a Noah's Ark attraction in Ma Wan Park in May and So said the Hong Kong developer had shared its experiences and was happy to provide support.

So said the project had received the central government's blessing.

"We are not going to hard-sell our religion," he said. "In a way, Chinese culture and the Bible share a similar value - harmony.

"We want to build a localised theme park, not an imported one ... [we hope] people do not just set their eyes on Mickey Mouse."

Leung said a major feature of the proposed theme park would be a "cultural zone" presenting Bible stories and introducing Western culture to mainlanders. The Tieling city government invited Leung to invest in the city in 2007. He said the theme park would also explore the parallel development of Chinese culture.

Harmony World will enter a tough market, with an estimated 70 per cent of the mainland's 2,500 theme parks in the red. Several have shut their doors in recent years, meaning Harmony World may have to rely on divine help to survive.

Despite the challenges, Leung is upbeat. He said Bible stories, including Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, the division of Israel into Judah and Israel and the story of Noah's Ark, would be told using modern techniques.

"For example, visitors can speak to the animals, fight with a giant Goliath and see how Moses parts the Red Sea," he said.

Other entertainment will include Water World, an amusement park and a theatre. It will also include a chapel for wedding ceremonies, a hotel and shopping facilities.

A letter of intent was signed with the city government last year and construction work is expected to begin in the second quarter of next year. The 1.8 billion yuan first phase - which will feature Noah Ark's and the rainbow covenant - should be completed in 2011.

"If we can raise 900 million yuan, and can arrange a loan of 900 million yuan, that will be enough," So said. They would welcome donations, sponsorship, loans and direct investment. He did not say how much the theme park had raised so far.

Canadian-based theme-park designer Forrec, which designed Canada's Wonderland in Toronto and Universal Studios Florida, will design Harmony World, and final plans will be ready by the end of this month.

As part of the project, So said they would raise a fund to support poor, disabled and blind people, as well as many victims from last year's Sichuan earthquake.

He said a new light railway connecting Shenyang with Tieling was being built.

"That will speed visitors from Shenyang to the park entrance in only 20 minutes," So said.

With Shanghai building a proper Disney Hong Kong's Disney park looks doomed as well for that reason. So much tax money wasted!

Is a small start for Disney just a big ploy?
Magic Kingdom's final size still not known
25 November 2009
South China Morning Post

How big Shanghai Disneyland will ultimately become remains a pressing question, after Beijing announced that only 116 hectares had been reserved for the city's long-coveted theme park.

The announcement raised eyebrows, as the space represents only a quarter of the 4 sq km, or 400 hectares, reported when Shanghai unveiled its plan for the mega project three weeks ago.

So officially, Shanghai Disneyland will be smaller than its Hong Kong rival, which covers 126 hectares. But as time goes by, Shanghai could become the biggest.

Two Shanghai government officials with the knowledge of the matter said that the statement by the National Development and Reform Commission referred only to the first phase of construction, and that there would be future expansion.

Admitting that details of the project had yet to be finalised, one Pudong district government official said that the Shanghai park would definitely outgrow its Hong Kong counterpart.

It may boil down to tactics that the mainland is adopting to nurture the growth of its own Magic Kingdom.

First, the central government and Shanghai municipality have yet to allay concerns of a bitter rivalry between Shanghai and Hong Kong as they up the ante to vie for tourists.

It is a middle road that Shanghai appears to be taking, to steady Hong Kong nerves and demonstrate effusive goodwill after Li Bincheng, a division director of the city's tourism administration, made upbeat remarks in August that the densely populated China market could sustain even three Disney theme parks.

It is believed that Shanghai's park, set to open in 2014, will eventually cover 10 sq km, after second- and third-phase expansions.

A Shanghai-based political analyst, who asked not to be identified, said: "It's another game of politics. Beijing definitely has its reasons to understate the size of the first phase."

Second, Beijing has to play down fears of an invasion of Western culture, after a group of scholars and government officials lodged complaints that the landing of Mickey Mouse would give full play to the United States' entertainment industry in China, denting the growth of homegrown companies and eroding the country's cultural heritage.

Analysts said the mainland was taking a go-slow approach to build Shanghai Disneyland, as it considered the potential damage to the domestic entertainment sector.

It was reported that the Ministry of Culture objected to the building of the park last year when the central government reviewed Shanghai's proposal for the multibillion-yuan project.

Third, Shanghai has stepped up efforts to cool the red-hot property market amid frenzied land and home purchases, as the news of the park heightened people's expectations of soaring property prices.

On November 4, when Shanghai officially announced its plan to build a Disney theme park, a parcel of land three kilometres from the Disney site was sold at 14,024 yuan (HK$15,935) per square metre in an auction, nearly quadruple what land authorities had targeted.

A wild price gain for Disneyland-related stocks has also panicked officials, with the Shanghai government and the China Securities Regulatory Commission fearing a boom-to-bust cycle when profit-taking sets in.

The Jielong Industry Group, which owns a parcel of land near the Disney site, now trades at more than 500 times its earnings for last year. The average price-to-earnings multiple among Shanghai-listed firms stood at 28 yesterday.

And the Shanghai government could go it alone by expanding the construction site without Beijing's approval.

An economist close to the city government said: "It wouldn't be a surprise if Shanghai took a bold step to unilaterally expand the size of the park, since there remain policy loopholes for the city to take advantage of.

"The city government would say the expanded space is for the related projects such as hotels and commercial buildings."

20 September 2011 Last updated at 16:47 GMT
Asia's growing middle class fuels theme park boom
By Katie Hunt Business reporter, BBC News, Hong Kong

Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty and Lego bricks will all find new homes in Asia over the next few years as the disposable incomes of the region's newly affluent fuel a boom in theme park construction.

Disney has broken ground on a $3.6bn (£2.3bn) outpost in Shanghai; Legoland plans to open a park in Johor, Malaysia, next year; and Sanrio will open a theme park dedicated to the cute white cat with no mouth in eastern China in 2014.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's two theme parks are in the throes of a $1bn expansion to keep up with the competition.

And that's just the big names. A rash of smaller, quirkier theme parks have sprouted up, including ones in China dedicated to the smartphone app Angry Birds and the online game World of Warcraft.

"Asia's large populations are now moving up into the bottom rungs of the middle classes," says Chris Yoshii, global director for economics at Aecom, a consultancy that specialises in the industry.

"There's been a tremendous increase in discretionary spending on things like travel, which theme parks are part of," he says.

Fast growth

The industry expansion comes at the right time for theme park builders and investors as attendance is dwindling in Europe and the US.

Theme park visits last year were up 1.9% according to figures from Aecom, but in Asia that figure was 7.3%.

And according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the region's market will be worth nearly $8.5bn by 2012, up from $6.4bn in 2007.

Still, there are some reasons to be sceptical.

Hong Kong Disneyland got off to a slow start after it opened in 2005, with poor attendance figures, and was still making a loss in the 2009/2010 financial year. But more recent attendance figures suggest it may have turned a corner.

And in August, China announced that it was slapping a ban on large theme parks not currently under construction - a move that could temper the industry's expansion.

Homegrown success

Asia already has a clutch of successful home-grown theme parks that are among the fastest growing in the world.

Hong Kong's Ocean Park, which features a vast aquarium and rollercoaster rides all perched atop one of Hong Kong's lush craggy peaks, saw attendance figures rise by 6% last year despite the threat from the big-name cross-town rival Disney.

The success of Lotteworld and Everland in South Korea, which both saw double-digit growth last year, is no doubt part of the reason why Universal Studios will be opening its largest park in the country in 2014.

And OCT Parks China runs two dozen parks in China that attract 20 million visitors each year including the country's most popular, OCT East in Shenzhen.

Local tastes

Aware of the competition, foreign brands are going beyond obvious steps such as multilingual announcements and Asian food to ensure that their attractions cater to local tastes.

Disney dim sum

Kelly Willis, who designed the Toy Story Land attraction which will open in Hong Kong Disneyland in November, says that he made sure that there were plenty of good photo opportunities.

"We started to see how our guests from South East Asia love to take photos," Mr Willis says.

Shanghai's Disney is not expected to feature a Main Street USA, a model of an early 20th Midwestern town, but will sport Disney staples such as a fairytale castle.

They are probably safe in betting the appeal of Disney's stable of characters will transcend cultures.

"It's our first time to see Disney as a family - we wanted to bring our daughter to see Mickey," says Rajesh from Singapore. He brought his wife and three-year-old daughter to Hong Kong Disneyland for a two-day visit.

Curbs

China's government has become wary of the proliferation of new theme parks.

In August, the National Development and Reform Commission placed a ban on the construction of parks.

Hong Kong Disneyland's new Toy Story attraction

It affects projects approved by local governments and larger than 20 hectares or that have a total investment of more than 500 million yuan ($78m; £50m).

Mr Yoshii at Aecom says the move is aimed at cooling property speculation rather than slowing the growth of the theme park industry itself, as in China parks often have residential and commercial developments.

The move also comes as Beijing faces pressure to clean up local government debt accumulated through spending on local infrastructure projects that have sometimes included theme parks.

Mr Yoshii says that his clients are concerned about the clampdown although it is not expected to affect international projects such as Shanghai Disney and Hello Kitty Land.

He likens the move to a similar edict issued in 2004 banning the construction of golf courses because of concerns about water consumption and the misuse of farmland that has had little affect.

"The reality is that local governments usually find creative ways of defining their projects so they go ahead," he says.

"Our clients feel it is something they can work around."

With Shanghai building a proper Disney Hong Kong's Disney park looks doomed as well for that reason. So much tax money wasted!

Isn't Disneyland HK already doomed, because of the Ocean Park? :nuts:

beautiful...ive been to happy valley shanghai..it was soo great!..love it...i hope to see more pic...

it's very unique theme park..

Chinese city boosts tourism with homegrown theme parks

HEFEI, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Most U.S. citizens know the city of Orlando for its cornucopia of amusement parks and other tourist attractions. The city of Wuhu is building a similar reputation in China, with domestically developed theme parks attracting thrillseekers from all over the country.

"I can't imagine a park like this being in China. I think it rivals the theme parks found abroad," said Wu Mei, a tourist from Shanghai, after watching a film at the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park, located in Wuhu in east China's Anhui province.

The park is different from many others in the country in that its high-tech rides and attractions were completely designed and built in China. Fantawild Holdings, based in the city of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province, owns two theme parks in Wuhu.

"The company has a research and development team of over 1,000 people, allowing it to update its products with new designs to keep people interested," said Hu Guanghua, marketing director of Fantawild's Anhui branch.

In 2011, the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park received 2.33 million people, up 10 percent year-on-year. More than 10 million people have visited the Fantawild parks in Wuhu over the last four years, making the city a popular tourist destination.

Before the theme parks opened, large tracts of empty land were a common sight in Wuhu. Large hotels, restaurants and retailers were rarely seen, said Kong Lingcai, an official from Wuhu's Communist Party of China (CPC) committee.

But less than two years after the parks were built, more than 100 hotels and restaurants were opened in the city, Kong said.

The city's job market is also booming. Hu said the Fantawild parks in Wuhu employ over 2,000 people, while related industries in the city are employing even more.

The city government plans to build more parks over the next five to 10 years, aiming to create a "theme park complex" in the city.

"We hope to build Wuhu into an 'eastern Orlando'," said Xiong Taixiang, vice director of the Wuhu government's cultural industry development office

The "eastern Orlando," however, will not be a mere copy of the U.S. city, but will include more Chinese content, as can be seen in the decor at the Fantawild parks.

"We are trying to integrate Chinese culture with our high-tech facilities," Hu said.

The construction of a theme park based on China's intangible cultural heritage is expected to start in Wuhu this year.

fantastic pics...