First Smurfs theme park opened in Shanghai
July 7, 2020 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
The first Smurfs theme park in China opened in Shanghai on May 29, giving Chinese children a new magical land to explore. According to International Merchandising, Promotion and Services, the worldwide licensor of the Smurfs’ cartoon images and brand, the world’s only other two Smurf theme parks are in Moscow and Dubai. The park in suburban Songjiang district is about an hour’s drive from downtown. The Smurfs park is inside a larger indoor-entertainment park, Dream City, which was built by real estate developer Shimao Group. Near Dream City’s entrance is the Kimbaland Guardians area, where children ride bumper cars and race go-karts, and take a journey to the center of the Earth with the Chinese cartoon characters created by Shimao. Beyond the Kimbaland, a giant gate resembling a jungle tells visitors they are entering Smurf territory. First created by Belgian comic artist Pierre Culliford, known by his pen name, “Peyo”, in 1958, the Smurfs are a group of small blue elves that are only three apples tall and live in mushroom houses in a secret village, the China Daily reports.
Belgium-based KCC Entertainment Design is behind the Shanghai park’s concept and schematic design. CEO Yannick Maes says in a news release: “Our team immersed completely into the world and DNA of the Smurfs and analyzed the site and an incredible Smurfy story was developed, which fits the building and budget perfectly.” Dream City General Manager Lou Xuan says the indoor design creates an immersive experience and is ideal for parents with children during Shanghai’s muggy summer time. “The construction took around 400 days, and we’re glad that the coronavirus has been controlled in Shanghai, so that we could open the park right before International Children’s Day on June 1,” he says, adding that the park received an average of 2,000 visitors a day in the past month. The current operating area covers 20,000 square meters and features around 40 recreational facilities. Lou says the park will develop a 10,000-square-meter outdoor area next year to add more nature elements. Tickets are CNY160 for adults, CNY80 for children between 1.1 and 1.4 meters tall, and free for children shorter than 1.1 m.
Other attractions adjacent to the park include the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel, built in a deserted quarry pit with 16 of its 18 floors underground and two floors underwater, and the Wonderland Area, another theme park developed by the Shimao Group featuring a glass plank road along the cliff of the quarry. Also nearby are the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden and the Guangfulin Relic Park, an archaeological site hosting artifacts from over 4,000 years ago, the China Daily reports.
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