Companies in the GBA | The Chimelong Resort is the “Backyard Paradise” of Cantonese

南方财经全媒体记者杨雨莱 广州报道

On May 23, the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair will be held in Shenzhen. When it comes to cultural and tourism enterprises, many Cantonese hold a special place in their childhood memories for Chimelong. Tours around the Chimelong Safari Park in primary school, excursions to Chimelong Paradise during high school, and visits to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom for dates.

Perhaps because they are close to these sources of leisure and entertainment, many Cantonese may not realize that Chimelong represents the gold standard among China’s theme parks. In the China Theme Park Competitiveness Evaluation Report 2023, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom and Guangzhou Chimelong Paradise ranked 4th and 6th, respectively.

In 2023, among the top 25 theme parks worldwide rated by the Themed Entertainment Association, six are based in China. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom ranks the 8th, and is the only one that ranked among the world’s top 10 theme park brands, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Disney and Universal.

Chimelong’s trajectory can be traced back to the Pearl River Delta in the 1980s and 1990s, when the China Tourism Group (Hong Kong) and Overseas Chinese Town Group co-developed China’s  first theme park, "Splendid China." in Shenzhen in 1989, the legend of the park’s full return on investment in its first year of operation after opening began. Following “Splendid China”, theme parks soon blossomed across the region and soon, the entire country.

A man from Panyu, Guangzhou, saw the golden opportunity as well. Born into a modest rural family, Su Zhigang worked in different jobs before making his fortunes opening a hotel called Xiangjiang Hotel, which was once the largest catering enterprise in Guangzhou. In 1997, Su started to enter the tourism industry. He began by chartering a Boeing 747 cargo plane, and importing a large number of wild animals from overseas, and founded the Chimelong Safari Park.

By the turn of the century, the park became a huge success, with average daily visitor counts exceeding 80,000, setting a record for a single theme park. On the back of Chimelong Safari Park's success, theme parks, including Chimelong Paradise and Chimelong Water Park, were later built in Guangdong, Forming a billion-worth Chimelong Entertainment Kingdom.

These parks not only gained popularity in Guangdong Province, but soon became the forerunner among theme parks in China. For example, Chimelong Paradise has set multiple records both in Asia and even the world. Facilities such as the motorcycle roller coaster, U-shaped slide, and diving coaster are firsts in Asia. And its vertical roller coaster has the longest vertical dropping distance worldwide.

Besides, Chimelong is also a significant contributor to the cultural and tourism industry in Guangdong creating more than 20,000 jobs and becoming a famous tourist attraction of the province. In 2023, the total number of visitors Chimelong received has exceeded 40 million, which is almost the population of Fujian Province.

However, there are underlying concerns for Chimelong. Much like other theme parks in China, it is also all park but no theme. Shanghai Disney Resort and Universal Beijing Resort are packed with visitors every day. The profit strategy of these top-level theme parks goes far beyond selling tickets. With devoted fan bases of big IPs such as Mickey Mouse and Harry Potter, steady revenue is almost guaranteed.

While many domestic theme parks, including Chimelong, have attempted to create their own IPs, with minimal success. Even most Cantonese locals can't recall that the iconic IPs of Chimelong are in fact three pandas, and the cartoon tiger that pops up frequently in the parks is named Kaka. But Chimelong is still working on creating more IPs, while building a culture-business-tourism complex. And it remains to be seen whether Chimelong can fight its way out and lead China’s theme parks to a whole new level.

出品：南财国际传播中心 21新媒体中心 创意互动中心

策划统筹：于晓娜 丁青云

内容统筹：谭婷 张楠

责任编辑：黄欣然 吴桂兴

执行统筹：黄欣然 

设计统筹：林军明

视频统筹：白宇航

监制：施诗

英文翻译&配音：李莹亮

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 张伟韬

运营支持：曾静娇

审校：魏雯静 黄志明