Theme parks turn summer into playtime paradise

SHANGHAI — With classrooms empty in the summer break and sun high, families are flocking to theme parks, making them some of China's hottest destinations.

This year, theme park bookings have surged by 70 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Chinese travel services platform Qunar.

At the newly opened Legoland Shanghai Resort, visitors are greeted by a 26-meter-tall Dada, the iconic giant LEGO figure, surrounded by colorful and dazzling attractions that create a fairy-tale experience.

"My 5-and-a-half-year-old child has been talking about coming to the resort for half a year. As soon as the tickets became available, we booked them," says a visitor surnamed Wang. "My child loves the park, taking photos with every character and enjoying every ride."

Since its opening on July 5, the Legoland Shanghai Resort has injected new vitality into China's theme park market, boosting local and surrounding cultural tourism consumption.

Data shows that the park is expected to welcome 2.4 million visitors this year. This summer, the surrounding hotels in Jinshan district, where the park is located, have seen a 3.5-fold increase in bookings compared to the same period last year. Homestay bookings have jumped sixfold. Over two-thirds of hotel bookings in Jinshan are from nonlocal visitors.

Similarly, the Universal Beijing Resort has also shown its economic power. In its first year of operation, it drove a 367.4 percent increase in revenue for the cultural and entertainment industries in Tongzhou district and a 122.6 percent increase in accommodation revenue.

According to the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, every 1 yuan (14 US cents) earned by a theme park can generate 3.8 yuan for the city and drive 6 to 15 yuan in revenue for upstream and downstream industries.

Data from the institute shows that as of October 2024, there were 385 theme parks nationwide. In 2023, 86 key theme parks in China welcomed 130 million visitors and generated more than 30 billion yuan in revenue, representing increases of 71.84 percent and 97.86 percent year-on-year, respectively. With such a large market scale, China has become a hot spot for global theme park investments.

Popland, also known as the Pop Mart City Park, with its popular IPs such as Labubu, has become a hit in Beijing's Chaoyang Park. According to Qunar, bookings at the park in June rose sixfold year-on-year due to Labubu's growing popularity.

In South China's Guangdong province, the gigantic Qingyuan Changlong Resort is set to open its doors soon.

Lin Huanjie, head of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, says that in the next few years, several large theme parks will open, centered on IPs from animation, film, and culture.

The new parks will further enrich the product supply of the domestic theme park market, meet consumers' increasingly diversified needs, and elevate the theme park economy to new heights, Lin adds.

Recently, Universal Beijing Resort launched its summer signature limited-time event Universal Cool Summer, featuring a comprehensive upgrade of graduation-themed interactions and the return of the Universal Cool Summer performance and Hogwarts events. Running throughout the summer, the program aims to ignite seasonal excitement.

In the ancient town of Fengjing in Jinshan district, a LEGO brick installation art exhibition has been set up in the heart of the scenic area. Visitors can search for hidden LEGO characters while touring the ancient architecture and exchange limited-edition badges after completing tasks.

"While exploring the ancient town, children play treasure hunt games, which significantly increases their interest in historical buildings," says a tourist surnamed Zhu.

Driven by technological progress and growing market demand, China's theme park industry is expected to expand, offering higher-quality services and stronger innovation in the future, according to Lin.

Xinhua