Universal appeal, set to grow

In 2025, visitors to Universal Beijing Resort can shop at the city's largest luxury-outlet mall, stay in a five-star hotel, and may have the opportunity to get fit at the world's first Endeavor City urban sports center, all in one vicinity.

The authorities of Beijing's subcenter recently signed deals to build the Beijing Haichang Ocean Park and the Poly International Art Exhibition Center, during the China International Fair for Trade in Services in the capital, to advance its cultural-tourism district's aspirations to become a world-class travel and vacation destination.

The district's plan calls for strategically positioning six major projects in its north, in addition to the Universal Beijing Resort, which will also host a comprehensive transportation hub, an international talent community and an indoor complex, featuring internationally renowned children's favorites like Peppa Pig, Barbie, and Thomas and Friends, says Suo Wenwen, an official of Beijing's subcenter.

"We're also looking at the potential to navigate the area's waterways to create a tourism and business corridor that could form a 'blue economic belt'," Suo says.

Universal's presence helped to boost the year-on-year revenue growth of Tongzhou district's cultural, sports and entertainment industry to 101.6 percent between January and June, surpassing the citywide average by 97.7 percentage points, Suo says.

The first phase of the resort's inauguration was named among the top 10 national cultural center construction achievements of 2021 in September of that year. This prompted the resort to celebrate its "birthday month" from Sept 1 until the end of the month this year.

The resort has "embarked on an extraordinary journey with millions of visitors", says Universal Beijing's executive vice-president and general manager Joe Hoskin.

"The genuine love from our guests and team members, along with the strong support from government and partners, have provided Universal Beijing Resort with more energy to lead the recovery of the tourism industry and create unforgettable moments for our guests," Hoskin says.

The celebration features new characters, Universal Pop special performances, new themed merchandise, and new food and drinks, as well as the release of a documentary titled The Incredible Journey of Creation.

This documentary, which premiered on Tencent Video on Sept 1, "captures the remarkable journey of bringing Universal Beijing Resort to life. As Universal Beijing Resort embarks on a new year of adventures, this documentary looks back at the birth of the resort, from blueprint to reality, bringing more inspiration and memorable experiences in celebration of the festive 'birthday month'", says Universal Beijing's corporate communication team member Zeng Qingxi.

The nine-episode series showcases such topics as how the world's first Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness was created, how the colossal dragon descends from the sky in its magnificent theater and how the delectable dishes from movies were brought into reality.

It also unveils the resort's construction process.

The 49.5-meter-high mountain in Jurassic World Isla Nublar, for instance, was meticulously handcrafted by a team of both domestic and international members. This stunning peak comprises three summits covering nearly 10,000 square meters.

The stage extravaganza in which humans and machinery cooperate seamlessly, Untrainable, took the creative team four years and cost millions of dollars. They dedicated a painstaking 3,000 hours to fine-tune the work, achieving Toothless' perfect flight posture, as seen in the movie, How to Train Your Dragon.

For the construction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, domestic and international creative teams' combined efforts produced nearly 26,000 lifelike props. These not only faithfully interpreted the original work but also brought the movies and reality closer together. Over 2,600 trees were planted to enhance the park's mystique and sense of seclusion from other attractions.

Zeng says the documentary tells more stories about the shows to let visitors know that the resort offers more than rides.

"A theme park is much more than roller coasters," he says.

"As a comprehensive cultural tourism and vacation destination, Universal Beijing Resort embodies a new form of integrated tourism, which offers a wealth of experiences, including entertainment shows, parades, interactive encounters with iconic movie characters and immersive dining experiences."

In the middle of the year, it launched a "cool summer" promotion to enable guests to experience fun with water.

"We strive to cater to the evolving entertainment preferences, especially among the younger generation, by continually exploring emerging trends in entertainment," Zeng says.

Over half of the visitors during this year's Tomb Sweeping Day holiday came from outside Beijing, and the proportion increased during the subsequent May Day and summer vacation periods.

"During the summer vacation, you'd easily notice a diversity of visitors with different accents," he says.

Zeng says many visitors return regularly.

Yang Yuhan, a second-year graduate student studying international business at Beijing Second Foreign Language University, has visited five times. The 23-year-old is especially fond of Bumblebee from the Transformers franchise.

"The Transformers movies were a constant in my life as I grew up, and I'm also a huge fan of the Jurassic Park series," she says.

"Being here has allowed me to realize my dream of immersing myself in these blockbusters. Universal is like a bridge that brings the magic of movies closer to reality," she says.

Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications graduate student Lin Ke has also visited five times, especially to meet Bob from the Minions and buy merchandise related to the franchise.

"The park has continued to develop over the past two years. I hope it'll offer even more attractions and movie IPs," the 25-year-old says.

"And I hope to visit even more, since I hear an ocean park will be built in the area."