Global 100 theme park soft opens in Hainan, China

The extraordinary, 170-hectare Global 100 theme park in Hainan Island, China, opened its doors to the public in a 'soft' opening on 31 December.

The spectacular opening ceremony, which included singing and dance performances alongside a full orchestra, represents the completion of phase one of a $6bn project for Changchun Film Group Corporation.

Global 100 is a 400-hectare mixed-use, leisure, retail, hospitality and residential scheme near Hainan Island’s most populous city. It is designed to rival existing globally famous attractions offered by Disney and other entertainment industry leaders.

The movie-inspired theme park consists of six different villages, each influenced by international film-making attractions from China, Europe and America.

The UK-themed village, for example, incorporates characters such as James Bond, Mr. Bean and Alice in Wonderland beside architectural emblems including castles, country villages and industrial landscapes.

The Chinese Village draws on the ancient Loulan kingdom, with a waterfront component featuring a fishing village and the giant ship from the legend of Zheng He’s expedition, combined in a theme based upon the Great Silk Road.

Chapman Taylor’s Shanghai studio developed the masterplan for Global 100, as well as providing the concept and architectural designs for the UK and China theme park villages.

Work continues in the theme park and an official opening is due in late 2019.