Center

Investors still keen to ride theme park craze

By Zhou Weirong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-25 08:59
Large Medium Small

It seems simple enough. As their wallets start to bulge more and more, the 1.3 billion Chinese need a place to go for entertainment  a theme park.

That goes some way to explaining the current investment craze in hundreds of themed amusement parks across the country.

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), a new wave of investments in China's theme parks is on the way, as the following five years are expected to be rosy for China's amusement parks and attractions industry.

There are now at least 2,000 theme parks in China, although the industry only started about 20 years ago. Most such parks were co-invested by the government and private sectors and were built up in economically developed regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

Domestic investors are planning a number of new parks in the country. For example, the historic town of Zhouzhuang on the outskirts of Shanghai is planning a US$40-million park with 5,000 years of Chinese culture as its theme. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2006 and is expected to take at least one year.

Meanwhile, the central government has mapped out a plan to spend heavily in the Shenzhen area to improve the existing parks so that they complement nearby Hong Kong Disneyland. The government hopes to market the region as a destination called the "Golden Coast," which would feature hotels and activities to keep visitors entertained for several days.

Foreign investors are also vying to inject billions of dollars into building up new theme parks across the country.

A joint venture between Shenzhen Sanguo Culture City Industrial Development Co Ltd and Canada-based Bedford International Financial Group is planning a US$3-billion park called China Today on Shenzhen's eastern shore, to be based on the legend of the third-century Three Kingdoms. The park is expected to open in 2010.

US-based Walt Disney is negotiating with Shanghai's municipal government to build a theme park in the city's Nanhui District, to open in 2010, coinciding with the city's World Expo 2010. Shanghai's Jinjiang Park is also talking with US company Triple Five about a project to expand and reinvent the park, according to IAAPA officials.

   Previous Page 1 2 Next Page