Legoland theme park coming up in Jinshan
A LEGOLAND theme park will be built in suburban Jinshan District, according to an agreement signed by Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of The Lego Group, and the Jinshan government early in November.
Lego is a participant at the second China International Import Expo.
According to Jinshan officials, it will be the largest Legoland park in the world after completion. Total investment of the park will exceed US$550 million.
The park, which is to be completed in 2023, will feature more Chinese cultural elements at its facilities.
Apart from the park, Legoland will also have a themed resort close to the park, which will combine elements of Lego bricks and Chinese culture to target families with children between two and 12 years old.
Numerous entertainment projects and interactive educational lessons will also be available at the park.
Connecting provinces
Hu Weiguo, head of the Jinshan government, said the Legoland will help the district further connect with neighboring provinces through tourism.
“In the future, we will have Disneyland in the east of Shanghai and the Legoland in the west,” said Hu. “More tourists from the Yangtze River Delta region and beyond will come to Jinshan.”
The first Legoland opened in 1968 in Billund, Denmark. Since then, another seven Legoland parks have opened across the world, each receiving over 1 million visitors annually.
Knudstorp said he was happy to see the positive response from the Chinese market over the past five years.
“We will reinforce our investment in Shanghai and the delta region to bring happiness and joy to more families,” he said.
Lego first came to China over 30 years ago. In 2014, the company established its Shanghai office, and two years later Lego’s first China flagship store opened in Shanghai.
Lego Group has seen steady growth in the Chinese market.
At present, Lego has two retail flagship outlets in Shanghai and one in Beijing. The company said that by 2020, it will have more than 220 retail stores in 54 cities across China.