2 | Monday, June 28, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO

Venue: Thousands of jobs to be created

Roller coaster rides are among the many attractions at Universal Resort, which is due to open in the second half of this year. provided to china daily

From page 1 long waterway links the resort area to the capital’s sub-center cultural and tourist zone. The venue features the Universal Studios Eitingon said that after COVID-19 Resort offers Beijing theme park, Universal CityWalk Bei- emerged at the start of last year, the Chinese jing and two hotels — the Universal Studios and US teams worked together on an active Grand Hotel and the NUO Resort Hotel. response. wide range It is the first time that the US company “We quickly formulated scientific and has invested in a brand hotel worldwide, effective prevention and control plans, highlighting its confidence in the Chinese implemented all measures in a coordinated of choices market. way and worked hard to minimize the The venue is owned by Beijing Interna- impact on the project schedule. The project By DU JUAN tional Resort Co, a joint venture between quickly resumed construction in an orderly Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Invest- way,” he said. has gone ment Co and Universal Parks & Resorts. “We relied upon government support to to great lengths to give guests an Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism get construction restarted, to get workers exciting experience when the venue Investment Co is a subsidiary of Beijing back on the site and stay on schedule. It’s opens. Tourism Group, one of the leading players in testament to the great support we’ve had The Beijing municipal government China’s tourism and hospitality sector. that we are still on the schedule we set origi- has offered support for the project’s “Different from other projects with such a nally and still in a very good position.” facilities, with the aim of providing a big investment scale (dozens of billions of high-end tourist landmark for the dollars), which are usually led by govern- Bright future city. ments, UBR has been initiated and carried Zhang Lingling, 28, a local white-collar Visitors can reach the venue’s main forward mainly by companies,” Song said. worker who has visited Universal Studios entrance, dubbed Universal CityWalk “This has brought obvious benefits and Singapore, said she is looking forward to the Beijing, by taking the or helped the two sides make full use of each Beijing resort opening, as she is a big fan of on the subway. other’s advantages. It’s a definite win-win. films and roller coaster rides. To offer an additional public trans- “Beijing Tourism Group has a mature “I have visited the Shanghai and Hong portation choice for the resort, the business structure, including tourist, cul- Kong Disneylands, as well as Universal Stu- Beijing Municipal Development and ture, hotels and transportation units, dios in Singapore and Japan. I had been Reform Commission approved a which can integrate many resources for the hoping so much that we could have such a project to provide a bus service for resort’s future operation. Our US partner venue in our city, which is a must for the cap- visitors to the venue. has strong competence in cultural areas — ital,” she said. The new Shiyuan Bus Terminal will especially entertainment, innovation and Zhang said she was thrilled to hear that occupy 7,000 square meters and fea- design — as well as rich operational experi- Universal Beijing Resort would be the larg- ture bus parking areas, business lots ence in theme parks. est of its kind in the world. and other facilities. “The two companies are a perfect match. Like her, many people eager to experience Visitors will also be able to tour the The central government has attached great the new theme park have recently down- theme park by boat. A 2.8-kilometer- importance to innovation products and loaded a trial version of the venue’s app, Top: Universal Studios Grand Hotel is located at the entrance to the new theme long waterway will wind through the has been very supportive of this project.” which is available online with details of park. Left: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will transport guests of all ages to resort area, from Jiukeshu Middle Road shows and themed rides. settings in the Harry Potter books and movies. Right: The Decepticoaster is the to west of the East Sixth Ring Road. Why choose Beijing? The park has yet to open, but news about largest roller coaster at Universal Beijing Resort. Eight major tourist spots will be Any project that takes two decades to the venue has become a hot topic among the photos provided to china daily located along the waterway — all come to fruition is not easy, and the Beijing public. named after ancient and modern venue is no exception. While people are eagerly waiting to visit poems about the Grand Canal. “ NBCUniversal visited other the venue, the companies involved in the Zhao Jun, director of experience that incorporates Chinese cul- The resort’s two hotels feature small cities in China while considering the loca- project, along with the local government, the Tongzhou district ture and entertainment concepts from docks, where guests can board boats to tion for its theme park in China. After a believe it will offer far more than just fun. cultural and tourism around the world. the park’s main entrance. detailed inspection, it saw the uniqueness Eitingon said, “Universal Beijing Resort administrative com- Located in the eastern district of of Beijing in the fields of marketing, talent will play a key role in helping to elevate the mittee, said the park What to expect Tongzhou, the venue comprises the Uni- and culture,” Song said. cultural and tourism landscape of Beijing — will bring opportuni- The venue is expected to receive more versal Studios theme park, CityWalk “The capital is a place all Chinese want to becoming a tourism landmark for the city ties to about 100 indus- than 10 million tourists a year and achieve and the hotels, along with 37 recreation- visit at least once in their lives,” he added. and contributing to a higher level of interna- tries. annual revenue of 10 billion yuan. al facilities, themed attractions and doz- Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism tional cultural exchange.” Song Yu “We have approached The park features seven themed “lands”: ens of food and beverage outlets. Investment Co was established in 2013, and He believes the venue will inject new a group of leading cul- Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness; CityWalk, home to 24 shops, a cine- the two sides reached agreement on the vitality into the development of China’s cul- tural and tourist compa- Transformers Metrobase; Minion Land; The ma, many restaurants and a host of resort project that year. tural and tourism industry. nies to set up businesses Wizarding World of Harry Potter; Jurassic mobile food bars, offers free admission In September 2014, the project was According to Beijing International Resort in the district. We will World Isla Nublar; WaterWorld and Holly- for visitors. approved by the National Development Co, about 100,000 construction workers cooperate in sectors wood. To add an international flavor to the and Reform Commission, marking a mile- were involved in the venue’s building phase including tourism, high- Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, resort, CityWalk Red Oven Pizza Bakery, stone for the entire process. and more than 10,000 jobs will be created in tech, entertainment and inspired by DreamWorks Animation’s film which has proved popular at the Uni- Negotiations between the two sides last- the operational phase. culture. Full industrial franchise, is Universal’s first “land” with versal Orlando Resort in the United ed three years and seven months, and were “The company aims to recruit in a way and consumption chains such a theme. States, will open at Beijing CityWalk, difficult, even though both parties were that not only benefits local residents but Andrew will be expanded as the Transformers Metrobase will be the first marking the restaurant’s first presence strongly committed to cooperation. By the also attracts more talent to the city sub-cen- Eitingon theme park develops,” he Transformers “land” in the world. The outside the US. end of 2017, the Beijing International ter,” Eitingon said. said. designers, well aware that visitors will be South Korean lifestyle brand Kakao Resort Co joint venture was formed and “We are working with more than 30 voca- Hu Na, associate professor of internation- familiar with the Hollywood movie, have Friends is poised to open its flagship construction of the project was accelerated. tional schools for talent cultivation, contrib- al cultural exchanges at the National Acade- added a Chinese touch by setting the Met- store in Beijing CityWalk — its first Andrew Eitingon, deputy general man- uting to such cultivation and retention my of Chinese Theatre Arts, said the project robase headquarters in Beijing. outlet in the Chinese capital. ager of Beijing International Resort Co, within Tongzhou district, where the park is will meet tourism demand in northern Chi- Guan Yu, deputy head of Beijing’s cul- The cinema in CityWalk, which said China is one of the most rapidly grow- located, and to talent development in the na and improve industrial upgrading in ture and tourism bureau, said the park is boasts 2,000 seats and 11 screens, is ing markets globally. cultural tourism industry nationwide.” Tongzhou. expected to create a huge consumption equipped with the biggest IMAX “We were excited by Beijing for many The theme park, together with Universal “It will drive construction of an inte- ecosystem and meet the demands of tour- screen for commercial use in Beijing. reasons. We found a supportive govern- CityWalk and the two hotels, will create a grated cultural tourism ecosystem, trigger ists. A trial version of the resort’s app, ment, a rapidly growing area, a thriving large number of jobs involving the enter- more business opportunities and extend “It’s time to reform the tourist industry. A listing themed attractions and enter- city, millions of consumers we felt would be tainment, retail and catering sectors. The the industrial chain in the region,” she deep integration of culture and tourism is tainment, is now available. Facilities excited by our destination, great potential venue will also boost Beijing’s economy added. needed to provide high-end products and such as stores and restaurants at the team members, a strong transportation and new development structure. The park aims to create an entertainment services,” she said. park can also be reached via the app. network and a strong network of business- es and supplier partners,” Eitingon said. “Universal Beijing Resort enjoyed strong support from both the central and Beijing municipal governments throughout the entire project. We are thankful for the sup- port we received from them as we selected our site, and the significant infrastructure investment the (Beijing) government has made to support our destination — including road connections, subway stations and rail links.” The park can be reached via the Batong Line and Line 7 on the , as well as by bus and boat — a 2.8-kilometer- Universal Beijing Resort, which is expected to receive more than 10 million visitors a year, will be the largest of its kind in the world. bu ta / for china daily