China’s richest man unveiled the first of at least 15 mega theme parks while at the same time throwing down the gauntlet to Disney.
The first Wanda City theme park opened in Nanchang, the capital of the southeastern Jiangxi province, built at a cost of $3 billion.
Chairman Wang Jianlin has ambitions for his company Dalian Wanda to become the world’s number one theme park operator.
The Wanda City theme park brand focuses on local Chinese culture.
"Chinese culture led in the world for 2,000 years, but since the last 300 years, because of our lagging development and the invasion of foreign cultures, we have more or less lacked confidence in our own culture. We want to be a model for Chinese private enterprise, and we want to establish a global brand for Chinese firms," Jianlin said.
It covers 200 hectares, comprising a $800 million theme park, forests, a shopping mall with cinemas, restaurants, several hotels and the world’s largest ocean park.
Jianlin says it hopes to be more than a match for Shanghai Disneyland which opens in two weeks.
"One tiger is no match for a pack of wolves — Shanghai has one Disney, while Wanda, across the nation, will open 15 to 20," he said last week.
Wanda also aims to beat Disney on price, charging about half the admission fee of a typical Disney ticket.
A second Wanda City park is due to open later this year in Hefei and Jianlin hinted it plans to open two parks overseas.
