The key design of a theme park at Legoland Shanghai Resort has been completed and construction of the main project will begin in September, local government authorities said. Covering a total area of 318,000 square meters, the resort, located in Jinshan district, will consist of the Legoland theme park and a hotel. At least 50% of the theme park’s civil engineering, including construction of the building, roads and basic utilities, will be completed by the end of this year when some landmark buildings are expected to top out, the Jinshan government said. Liu Jian, Party Secretary of Jinshan district, paid a visit to the construction site of the resort last week. Stressing construction quality, Liu also pointed out the importance of soliciting retailers and other businesses so that the resort can attract more visitors. The agreement to open a new Legoland in Shanghai was signed during the China International Import Expo in 2019. The groundbreaking ceremony for the resort was held in mid-November 2021. A model of the resort was unveiled at the 5th CIIE with the completion of its schematic design. The total investment for the resort is expected to exceed CNY10 billion.
United Kingdom-based Merlin Entertainments will be responsible for the operation of the theme park. During a news briefing in February, Chen Jie, General Manager of Legoland Shanghai Resort, said a recovery in China’s tourism sector has been evident, which will facilitate the development of the theme park industry. The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism reported 139 million domestic tourist trips during the first half of this year, up 100% year-on-year. Income from domestic tourism also doubled from last year to top CNY155 billion in the first six months.
Shanghai International Resort, where Shanghai Disney Resort is located, reported 13 million visitor trips in the first half, which was 50% higher than in 2019. The resort’s tourism income reached CNY9 billion in the first six months, 90% higher than the 2019 level. The total number of domestic tourist trips in China surged 63.9% year-on-year to exceed 2.38 billion in the first six months, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Domestic tourism income increased 95.9% from a year earlier to CNY2.3 trillion in the first half.
According to Chen, there are 10 Legoland theme parks operating worldwide at present. Three more theme parks are under construction in Shanghai, Chengdu of Sichuan province and Shenzhen of Guangdong province. “While China is already the world’s second largest theme park market, the growth potential is huge. Therefore, we have full confidence in building the Shanghai resort into a flagship project among all Legolands in the world,” she said. The first Legoland was built in Billund, Denmark. One of the stakeholders of Legoland Shanghai Resort, KIRKBI, owns 75% of Lego Group, the China Daily reports.
