China 2017/18 - Guide to Projects & Coasters

"Ejection Coaster" Hmmm.. hope it lives up to the name.

^It's funny, when I just looking at your post before actually reading it I caught a glimpse of the words "vertical hill" and "launch" and, for a split second I though we would have a vertical launch!

I've been wondering how long this theme park bubble could last in China. It seems like there have been an unsustainable amount of parks built in the last few years so I did a little research and number crunching.

I really didn't grasp the numbers when I started but the fact the population of China is equivalent to the population of North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and all of Western Europe -- combined should have been telling. Well over half that population (691million) now live in cities.

Now while I'm certainly no expert in this field I took a rough guess that a city with an urban area population of 400,000 size could easily sustain a small sized park around the level of a Fantawild (2 or 3 coasters and no more than a day out).

The numbers are pretty hard to come by for China but I delved into it and there appears to be 160 cities with populations over a million and at least 500 cities with a population higher than 400,000. My list came to 661 with a population over 350,000.

Now I'm pretty sure someone could do a better job than me at this but even if my calculations were fairly off we are still looking at a massive number of parks, There are just soooooooo many people.

From people I know in China most of the big new parks are busy at weekends if not so much during the week (Except Victory Kindgom... No one goes to Victory kingdom ) and the Fantawilds and Happy Valleys which have good infrastructure in place are doing extremely well. And currently there's only around 20 of these.

I'm pretty sure we will be seeing the number of big theme parks going up and up for many more years.

OCT have made an official announcement for a new park in the Lijia area of Chongqing, China. The park has been labled as OCT’s first Mountain Happy Valley and will be located alongside the river. (Google maps location)

The released concept art shows what’s obviously an S&S launched ride, a sky loop and some kind of looping coaster but as always its really early concept art so it could turn up to be anything.

What I think is most exciting about this park is the terrain. The region the park is planned for has some excellent elevation changes and the last time OCT worked with elevation changes they created the GCI Wooden Coaster at Knight Valley.

The park is set to open in early 2017 and will open along side a new Maya Water Park, sports complex and indoor garden.

Sources: CQ News, China Economic Net, Sina & Ifeng

^Well, if it really turns out like that, I guess it won't be bad at all!

That bubble dome concept art screams "Happy Magic Water Cube" and I love it!

That's not really a concept as such because its literally taken from a real life picture of the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140622000001&cid=1202

Readers of this thread might find this article interesting.

59 theme parks to be built in China by 2020

China is slated to build 59 theme parks and five water parks by 2020 with total investments of US$23.8 billion, expected to attract 166.3 million people, a scale far exceeding the United States and Japan, Chinese-language Beijing Business Today reports, citing global engineering firm AECOM.

The market is relatively immature, however, compared to the US and Japan, and most of the nation's theme park developers focus more on the value of the enclosed land for the parks.

From 2012-2013, 14 theme parks opened offices in China, AECOM said.

According to the firm's statistics the US has fewer than 40 theme parks, Japan has more than 30, while China has 40 times the amount of the two countries combined.

Most of the construction focuses on the model of "parks plus properties," aiming partially to develop the property market.

Chinese theme parks received 180 million of tourists in 2013, up 6% from 2012.

By 2025, the nation's theme parks could receive 320 million tourists, surpassing the US, according to statistics from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).

According to an unnamed executive of a property and hotel management company in Hainan, the 1990s was the peak of China's theme park development, with more than 2,500 theme parks being completed from 1990-1994, but over the past 10 years, 80% of the theme parks closed down, resulting in economic losses of 300 billion yuan (US$48 billion). Currently, only 10% of the surviving theme parks are profitable, 20% are breaking even, while 70% of them are losing money.

Tourism industry insider Xu Fan said less than 10% of China's theme parks are profitable.

It costs lots of money and requires a long period of investment before any returns to develop a theme park. China typically sets a profit return period of two to three years for a theme park, faster than the six to eight years taken internationally. Theme parks, therefore, ignore the importance of regular transformation, which creates a vicious cycle of theme park development.

Wish a U.S. park would clone Expedition GeForce

Just want to give this a bump to see if anything needs to be updated.

You might want to add this on. It's another cheap chinese knock-off. http://rcdb.com/12291.htm

It's been really quiet on the China news front really but I've added the new Hello Kitty Park announced for Hangzhou

No major coasters in the concept art but it looks nice.

You might want to add this on. It's another cheap chinese knock-off. http://rcdb.com/12291.htm

I've been mostly keeping it to the major chain parks. Theres too many little ones going up everywhere. But heres a construction shot of the one you just mentioned.

I

That Hello Kitty park might not have shown any coasters, but they got one of those ferris wheels of death.

Same folks who made the one in Oita, right?

The latest updates to Google Earth have show construction at a number of new Chinese parks. Below is the construction site for Sun Tzu Cultural Park in Guangrao. The park has already put up a number of buildings and a new Chinese built splash down ride. There are clearings for the parks two new Roller Coasters which I have marked on the map. The S&S launched coaster is due to go top right while the mine train is to the left of the main museum building.

There's no sign of any track on site yet but these images were taken at the end of June so its possible vertical construction has started on these rides by now. Unfortunately news out of Guangrao is hard to come by so they may be fully built before we see anything more.

2 new Fantawilds added to the list. The delayed park in Datong already has a thread. But there is a new one under construction in Jiayuguan which is well known as the city where the west end of the Great Wall Of China terminates.

The park is coming along nicely but there is no sign of any coasters yet, Artwork suggests an SLC and Mine Train combo but the artworks been wrong in the past.

Source: VHCoasters

I don't know how you keep up with these Chinese parks, but thanks for the help.

^Agreed!

I'm actually intrigued to someday finally get to a Fantawild park. I assume by the time I get back to China there will be no less than 34897 Fantawild Parks!

^ That's how I feel about Fantawild as well! Fantawild and Wanda are announcing parks everywhere these days just like they are mother rabbits trying to take over Australia.

Based on the schematic drawings, which you can't really base what the actual park will look like, it seems these Fantawild parks look nicer than the Happy Valleys.

I've so far visited one Fantawild and Five Happy Valley's

In my experience Happy Valley parks tend to lack atmosphere. Fantawild in Zhengzhou was a really pleasant and nice park, I'd say the overall atmosphere was much better than all of the Happy Valley parks except Tianjin. Which is by far and away the nicest Happy Valley park. (Although I've not been to the Chengdu park)

However Happy Valley wins hands down on the coaster front. The Boomerang and Sky Loop at Fantawild were nice enough but compared to rides like Bullet Coaster and Fireball they don't hold a candle.

Having said that Fantawild just bought a ton of Gravity Group Woodies. (At least 4 possibly as many as 6) So things are looking up there too.

Some more recent shots of the new Jiayuguan Fantawild

Source: VHCoasters via Wiebo

Hmm--I spy with my little eye . . . the Matterhorn. Interesting.

Fantawild has begun construction of it's stage 2 parks recently and we already know of new parks being built in Jiayuguan,Jinan, Ningbo and Datong as well as second parks in Zhengzhou and Zhuzhou. They even have a third park being built in the city of Wuhu.

However a quick browse of the site Fantawild uses for tender applications for construction work on new projects has revealed another new park which was until now unknown. Along with the previously mentioned parks tender documents reference a park labeled as Xiamen 2. Xiamen already has a park hence the designation of the number two. They have space already saved for a second park as can be seen in the satellite image below.

However most interestingly this tender document in particular talks about the construction of footers for a new wooden coaster. Along with the confirmed and almost finished one's at Zhuzhou, Jinan and Wuhan and the semi confirmed (Mentions on news sites but no pictures yet) ones at Ningbo and Zhengzhou this makes 6 new Fantawild woodies in 2 years. As IAAPA proper starts tomorrow I would not be surprised to see M&V and Gravity Group announcing these 3 new rides during the week.

On a side note this tender document confirms the installation of an SLC at the Jiayuguan Park too. So there will be plenty to keep you updated on over the next year.

Not been much Chinese news at IAAPA this year which is a shame. But M&V did quietly confirm a 4th Fantawild Woodie as expected for Zhengzhou. (see the bottom of the picture below)

Typically the year after I visited too. Doh!

Picture Credit: Brian Andrelczyk

I'm just updating the first post with a few bits and bobs but there was some news yesterday.

Huayi Brothers Movie World is a new park just announced For Shuzhou, China. (Shuzhou is a little north west of Shanghai)

The park is essentially a Chinese version of Universal Studios based on Chinese films and culture.

While it is obviously just concept art the art that has been released features a B&M wing coaster from several different angles. Is it likely to end up being a B&M? Maybe not but the art is very specific.

The park will be build on the south side of Yangcheng Lake and is expected to open at the end of 2015. To be honest if they wan’t to hit that date they need to get a move on.

Source 1 & Source 2

And to go with that park we have another one in Shanghai called Polar Ocean World

The plans suggest a coaster but of unknown type.

The Goddard Group designed theme park is part of a much larger development. Oddly the impressive art work seems to bare little relation to the plans.

The park is being built by the same people who own Discovery World in Dalian (Where Mad Cobra is now situated)

Source