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[Kristof]

Press release by the Beijing goverment:

Beijing has unveiled a plan to build a Disney theme park by 2010, in a move that could see the capital overtake Shanghai as the first mainland city to compete with Hong Kong Disneyland, the South Morning Post reported.
The report said in a key document presented at Beijing's ongoing municipal people's congress, the city's development and reform commission said that the theme park could be one of up to 10 facilities established by leading entertainment companies in Daxing district's National New Media Base.

Beijing's bid to build the park in the southern suburb suggests that Shanghai's plan to set up a similar park may be forced off the drawing board, the report said.

Shanghai has long been in contact with Disney to build a theme park.

However, unlike Beijing, the city has not included the Disneyland plans in any of its formal policy documents.

The Beijing city government's inclusion of a Disneyland park in its development road map suggests it has secured central government support for the project.

A Beijing Disneyland could help sustain the city's post-Olympic tourist trade, the report said.

But later denied by Disney:

Conflicting reports were swirling about in the media Tuesday regarding a new Disney park in Beijing.
The South Morning Post of Hong Kong reported that Beijing had revealed plans to build a Disney park in the city by 2010 to not only compete with Hong Kong Disneyland, but to trump Shanghai as the first city in mainland China to build a Disney park.

The report said that the park would help sustain tourism in the city after the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

However, Disney denied the report in a statement, saying that they are continuing negotiations with Shanghai, although no formal agreement has been reached.

Hong Kong Disneyland, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. of Burbank and the Hong Kong government, opened in September, and expects to draw about 40 percent of its total visitors from the Chinese mainland.

Your thoughts?

[Kristof]

I think that they're planning to build a few smaller themeparks in China, but no Magic Kingdom style parks.  Didn't Jay Rasulo announce recently that certain Disney themeparks adapted to their location, so non-Magic Kingdom style, would be build in the near future?

[Anthony]

Yeah, I've read that they're planning to spread the Disney "experience" to more places over there, but not necessarily in the "Disneyland format".  I think even the idea of a Disney experience covering a few floors of a tower block in a big city has been mentioned...  I can't remember where I read this though..  :?