China's Wanda Unveils $2.5 Billion Theme Park in Guilin

China's property to entertainment empire, Dailan Wanda group has started construction of a cultural tourism center near Guilin, in the Guangxi region. Cost of the project is pegged at $2.46 billion (RMB16 billion.)

The Guilin Wanda Cultural Tourism City, in China's southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, will include an amusement park, a film park and an ocean park. The 200 hectare site, with a built out area of 1 million square metres, will also find room for five and six star hotels, retail and leisure facilities, a stage show and amusement park rides.

The mega-project is the 11th large-scale location based entertainment facility for Wanda in China.

The opening is scheduled for 2020 and Wanda is forecasting 20 million visitors in the first year. It says they will bring in annual $770 million (RMB5 billion) of tourism income.

Guilin is already a major tourist destination in China with some 40 million visitors per year. It is famous for its limestone topography and woodlands. Wanda says its theme park will fill in some of the gaps in what the district can offer.

International conglomerates are also now building theme parks to cater to China's growing middle classes and their surging demand for tourism, leisure and entertainment. The Shanghai Disney Resort opens next month on June 19.