The Foshan Cultural and Ecological Project predicts it will draw 6.7 million visitors in its first year when it opens in 2020.
Viacom International broke ground Wednesday on a US$1.71 billion (RMB 11.9 billion) Nickelodeon theme park in Foshan, a city in southern China’s Guangdong province, 75 miles (123 kilometers) northwest of Hong Kong.
The Nickelodeon Cultural Resort will occupy one million of the three million square meter project, which is being built as part of the Foshan Cultural and Ecological Project. Set to open in 2020, the entire project is expected to draw 6.7 million visitors in its first year.
That number would be more than 50 percent higher than what Shanghai Disney Resort drew in its first year, making those numbers unrealistic. By comparison, Hong Kong Disneyland drew 6.8 million visitors in 2015, after over a decade in operation.
The project is being developed by Sanshui New Town Management Committee, the authorized representative of Sanshui New Town; Hong Kong Elite Global Group; and Viacom International Media Networks.
Nickelodeon theme areas generally operate within other amusement parks, rather than as independent units. Attractions with the branding currently operate in the United States, Germany, and Malaysia.
