Real add lustre to China’s tourist hub

JUST a stone’s throw across a narrow waterway from the world’s largest gambling hub, Macau, a former oyster farming island is being transformed into China’s newest tourism haven.

Dubbed by some as China’s answer to Florida’s Orlando – a global tourist magnet with its cluster of major theme parks – Hengqin has seen property prices more than double over the past two years.

While still a dusty mass of construction sites, Hengqin now draws millions annually to its anchor attraction, the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park, with a slew of hotels, malls and sprawling residential developments being built nearby.

‘Virtual reality’

Spanish soccer club Real Madrid announced last week they would open an interactive “virtual reality” complex in Hengqin, in partnership with Hong Kong-listed developer Lai Sun Group .

The 12 000 square metre venue, set to open in 2021, will include virtual reality entertainment and a museum showcasing the club’s history.

The transformation of Hengqin, which is three times as large as Macau, is part of Beijing’s efforts to bolster links between Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in the Pearl River Delta region, or socalled “Greater Bay Area”, modelled after other dynamic global bay areas such as Tokyo and San Francisco.

The entertainment mix will also feature China’s first Lionsgate movie world with theme rides from blockbuster films – Reuters