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NEWS: Universal Studios plans to build park in Beijing


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http://www.aastocks.com/en/news/HK6/NOW.582524/Count3.html

 

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Officials with the NDRC of Tongzhou District, Beijing disclosed that the authority has submitted an application for making the construction of the Universal Studios theme park as the key project this year. Currently, demolition is in progress on the site and it is expected that construction may commence in the fourth quarter this year, Shanghai Securities News reported.

 

According to the development planning, the overall investment of the project is RMB12 billion. The construction is expected to be completed in January 2018.

 

Previously reported back in 2012 with rumors of this project stemming back to 2009, it appears that this destination has long been in the works!

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/02/12/universalstudios-china-idUSSHA13165320090212

 

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U.S. film giant Universal Studios is awaiting regulatory approval to build a theme park costing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in Beijing, a Chinese government official said on Thursday.

 

"Universal has filed an application to build a theme park in Beijing and the project is being screened by the government," a spokeswoman with the Beijing city government told Reuters.

 

The park, to be jointly owned by Universal Studios and state-owned Beijing Tourism Group, has been listed by Beijing's city government as one of its key projects for 2009, the official Shanghai Securities News quoted unnamed sources as saying.

 

The project is likely to be approved because the authorities are keen to launch big projects that would boost the slowing economy, the report said.

 

But the Beijing government official played down the report saying there was no guarantee the theme park would get the green light.

 

An executive with Beijing Tourism, which owns Beijing Capital Tourism Co (600258.SS) and China Quanjude (Group) Co (002186.SZ), told Reuters the firm had set up a team to handle the project, but declined to elaborate. Universal Studios was not immediately available to comment.

 

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said last month that it would submit a proposal to the Chinese government to build a theme park in Shanghai. That project would cost more than $3 billion, Chinese media reports said.

 

Universal Studios is operated by NBC Universal, which is 80 percent owned by General Electric Co (GE.N) and 20 percent by Vivendi (VIV.PA). ($1 = 6.83 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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^Here's the Wikipedia map of that whole district:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tongzhou.png

 

" It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the nation's capital. Downtown Tongzhou itself lies twelve miles due east of central Beijing, at the northern end of the Grand Canal (on the junction between the Tonghui Canal and the Northern Canal) and at the easternmost end of Chang'an Avenue."

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^Here's the Wikipedia map of that whole district:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tongzhou.png

 

" It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the nation's capital. Downtown Tongzhou itself lies twelve miles due east of central Beijing, at the northern end of the Grand Canal (on the junction between the Tonghui Canal and the Northern Canal) and at the easternmost end of Chang'an Avenue."

Haha the closer it gets to the center, the worse it get. Have I mentioned the worst traaffic jam you can find anywhere in the world that shows up in Beijing every day? Not to mention the air pollution.

 

Seriously why can't Universal choose Guangzhou area? Good traffic, low land prices, little to no air pollution; People in Canton area would like to spend more money on parks than the rest of China and they accept new things much easier. Probably the only competitors are Chimelong Paradise, Happy Valley Shenzhen, Ocean Kingdom, Ocean Park and Disneyland that I think Universal can easily beat them all.

 

Sorry, I just can't find the benifit to build a park in Beijing...

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^Universal must be looking at the number of foreign visitors to Beijing and hoping that a "famous name" amusement park can draw enough people. It's also difficult to ignore such a large population base (even if most residents can't afford a day Universal).

 

Someone at Universal made the decision to not go head to head with Disney by avoiding Shanghai and the south of China

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  • 1 month later...

here is the latest on the $2 Billion Universal Studios-Beijing Park

 

8:23 PM PST 3/4/2014 by Clifford Coonan, Alex Ben Block

Universal Studios Entrance Globe - P

Getty

Universal Studios looks to Beijing?

Located in a suburb of China's capital city, Universal Studios Beijing will be the company’s third facility in Asia after Singapore and Tokyo.

 

Universal Studios is planning to open a Hollywood movie theme park, Universal Studios Beijing, in the suburbs of the Chinese capital in collaboration with a local state tourism company.

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The news was released on the website Sina's property pages, and spread quickly online, with much excited chatter on China's Twitter, Weibo.

 

The facility will cover a 51-acre site and the total budget will be 12 billion yuan ($1.95 billion). Construction is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the local media report.

A report in Shanghai Securities News, cited by the Shanghai Landscape Architecture Design Institute website, said officials from the National Development and Reform Commission had filed an application to begin construction, and the demolition of existing buildings was ongoing, with the aim of opening the park in January 2018.

 

The Universal Creative division of Universal Parks and Resorts has also been advertising for Mandarin Chinese-speaking staff.

 

When contacted by The Hollywood Reporter, Universal declined to comment on the various reports.

The Chinese partners, Beijing Tourism Group, which is part of the capital's municipal government, will provide the land and an unspecified part of the investment, while Universal Studios will be responsible for branding, intellectual property, technology and management of the park, Sina reported.

 

In a separate report, the Global Times daily reported that municipal authorities are planning to build a monorail in Beijing, with the terminus in the new Universal Studios in the southeastern suburb of Tongzhou.

The Beijing resort will bring the number of Universal Studios that the company operates in Asia to three, with Universal Studios in Singapore and Osaka. Both facilities are massively popular with Mainland Chinese tourists, as is the Los Angeles Universal Studios.

 

There is considerable amount of activity in the theme park area in China right now. The Walt Disney Company has Hong Kong Disneyland and is building a $4.4 billion Disneyland Shanghai project that is due to open at the end of 2015, as mainland China's first Disney resort.

 

DreamWorks Animation's China unit, Oriental DreamWorks, is developing a $3.1 billion cultural and "entertainment destination" in Shanghai with a trio of Chinese partners -- China Media Capital (CMC), the Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment.

 

The Chinese real estate group, Dalian Wanda, which owns AMC, is building a theme park project called Wuxi Wanda City, while Chinese production company Huayi Brothers has been building a resort on the holiday island of Hainan, which takes the films of top director Feng Xiaogang as the theme.

 

Link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-studios-build-2-billion-686156

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  • 7 months later...
Looking forward to seeing some of the detail of the park. Hoping they will be adding something new and not just copying the other parks.

This is the area where the park will be at, they are keeping this in DL because the government doesn't want the nearby real estate price to increase like Blue Fire clones.

 

They are adding Chinese elements to the park like Shanghai Disneyland.

 

It's getting closer to Halloween, Beijng certainly gives a feeling of a city in horror movies.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-universal-studios-beijing-20141012-story.html

 

After 13 years of negotiations and planning, Universal Parks & Resorts said Monday it would open a $3.3-billion, 300-acre theme park in Beijing. The company and its Chinese partners did not set an opening date, but state-run media said the complex would debut in 2019.

 

The long-rumored park will be among the company’s largest and include the same kind of movie-themed attractions featured at Universal parks in Los Angeles, Orlando, Japan and Singapore. It will include attractions specifically created for China and plans also call for a Universal CityWalk retail-dining-and-entertainment complex as well as a “first-ever” Universal-themed resort hotel.

 

The park is to be in an eastern suburb called Tongzhou. Additional phases could see the complex expand to 1,000 acres.

 

The park’s Chinese partner, Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co. Ltd., which was formed in 2013, completed a $300-million deal for the land in March, Chinese media reported.

 

The park will be jointly owned by Beijing Shouhuan, which is a consortium of four Chinese state-owned companies, and Universal Parks & Resorts.

 

Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of NBC Universal, signed an agreement to develop the Beijing park in December of last year, the state-run Beijing News said, and the National Development and Reform Commission, which approves such projects, signed off on the plans last month.

 

Tom Williams, chairman and chief executive of Universal Parks & Resorts, said the Beijing park would showcase some of the best themed attractions to be found anywhere. “We will work together [with Shouhuan] to create experiences based on China’s best-loved stories and centuries-long rich cultural heritage,” he added.

 

Asked specifically what "Chinese elements" the park would include, Williams refused to offer specifics but said the company had already conducted "extensive research" on this matter and said the park would "pay proper respect and homage to Beijing" and Chinese culture overall.

 

Williams would not detail what marquee attractions the Beijing park would include either, but rides based on the "Transformers" franchise and the "Despicable Me" series as well as "Harry Potter" seem likely candidates based on those films' popularity in China. The fourth installment in the Transformers series, "Transformers: Age of Extinction," became the top grossing film ever in China this year.

 

“China remains a vital part of our company’s film business,” added Williams, noting that Universal Pictures is also about to open a film office in Beijing that would focus on movies, including more co-productions with Chinese partners.

 

Beijing will be the northernmost Universal theme park and the city has a number of climate and other challenges, including snow and severe air pollution. Williams said the company would focus on building attractions conducive to wintertime visitations.

 

Sidestepping a question about air pollution, Williams said he grew up in Southern California when there were some days that people were advised not to go outside because of smog. Now that's been cleaned up, he said, and he expressed confidence that Beijing too would solve its smog problems.

 

"There's already been dramatic improvement" since his first visit to Beijing, Williams said, not mentioning that the city just suffered through a three-day stretch of abysmal smog that sent the Air Quality Index off the charts.

 

In a videotaped greeting played at the press conference, Steven Spielberg, a creative consultant for Universal, said the "Chinese people deserve the very best our creative teams are capable of creating."

 

Universal does not currently have direct investments in the Universal-branded parks in Japan and Singapore. But it will invest in two joint ventures being established to build and operate the Beijing park.

 

Universal will have a 30% stake in the construction and ownership joint venture; Shouhuan will hold 70% of that. Universal will own 70% of the management and operations joint venture with Shouhuan having a 30% stake.

 

“Universal theme parks are the best theme parks in the world today,” said Beijing Shouhuan chairman Duan Qiang, adding that “Chinese people love the movies and exciting entertainment.”

 

China is expected to build 59 theme parks by 2020, according to a recent report by industry analyst AECOM. The $4.4-billion Shanghai Disney is slated to open in late 2015 with a Magic Kingdom-style theme park, several hotels and a Downtown Disney-style shopping center. DreamWorks Animation, through its China-based Oriental DreamWorks, is currently building an entertainment complex in Shanghai.

 

Six Flags recently announced plans to build and operate several parks in China over the next decade, with one in Tianjin — an hour train ride from Beijing — expected in 2018.

 

In 2012 and 2013, 12 new theme parks and one water park opened in China, with capacity to receive 27.8 million visitors a year. By 2020, AECOM predicts China will receive as many theme park visitors as the U.S. does currently.

 

In 2013, China’s central government lifted a moratorium on new theme park development approvals. Except for very large parks with capital investment greater than about $800 million, approvals can now be obtained at the provincial level, allowing many new projects to move forward.

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A conceptual overview of the new park.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Music Plaza Stage both from the Universal Orlando Resort.

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Shred-inspired land.

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Jurassic Park River Adventure and Discovery Center.

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A clone of The Hulk coaster from islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando.

Edited by jedimaster1227
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Just a bit of speculation. My attention was immediately drawn to the large building that is to the left of the Jurassic Park River Adventure Ride. Could this possibly be a glimpse into what the rumored KONG ride could look like? Given its location and that its theme would make sense in that area and also given that other rides depicted have a striking resemblance to existing rides... could this indeed be what the ride building may look like?

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China seems to be the "happening" place for new park construction these days. I wonder if this park will get a version of Halloween Horror Nights, too. The Chinese seem rather fond of walk-through haunts (all the Happy Valley parks have at least one).

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China seems to be the "happening" place for new park construction these days. I wonder if this park will get a version of Halloween Horror Nights, too. The Chinese seem rather fond of walk-through haunts (all the Happy Valley parks have at least one).

I'm not really sure if horror mazes like USO's are allowed, maybe Chinese government has a standard.

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^There were a few mazes at some of the Chinese parks that had a live actor or two, in addition to the usual triggered effects. Some of them were fairly gory, as well.

Edited by cfc
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