The opening ceremony of Hefei Wanda City

Chairman Wang Jianlin gives a speech

The grand opening of Hefei Wanda Cultural Tourism City was held on September 24. This is Wanda's second Wanda City to commence operation this year and the fifth large-scale cultural tourism project to commence operation.

World innovative amusement equipment, integrated indoor-outdoor amusements, bright Hui cultural characteristics as well as beautiful scenery amid mountains and water will bring a brand new experience to tourists.

Acting governor of Anhui Province, Li Guoying, Hefei Party Secretary, Wu Cunrong and other provincial and city leaders as well as Wanda Group's Chairman attended the opening ceremony.

Phase I of Hefei Wanda City occupies land area of 160 hectares with gross floor area of 3 million square meters. Cultural tourism investment amounts to RMB24 billion with five major contents, namely, tourism, culture, sports, business and hotels. The first phase will see a Wanda Mall, an outdoor theme park, a hotel cluster and a street bar, among others, commence operations.

The brand new design concept and strong innovation capability allow Hefei Wanda City to display three major highlights:

1. Autonomy and innovation. All the amusement facilities and design content of Hefei Wanda City are Wanda's proprietary research and development and are unique; many are world class amusement equipment. The indoor water park comprises 13 water entertainment facilities with the latest technology in the world including the longest indoor hydromagnetic roller coaster in China, the world's first two-layer flowing river, and the largest indoor loudspeaker combination in China. The outdoor theme park boasts 33 large equipment including the world's tallest vertical loop roller coaster, and China's first broken track roller coaster. The indoor movie park has "Fly over Anhui" and other latest movie technology and entertainment programs in the world.

2. Vibrant Hui cultural theme. Hefei Wanda City has embodied the form and content of the Hui culture in the indoor and outdoor large theme parks, amusement facilities, performing arts programs and architectural style, creating a vibrant Hui cultural characteristic. The Wanda Mall is shaped in the form of a scroll of rice paper, with implications that Huizhou has always been a place of poetry, calligraphy, music and rites, as well as the place where rice paper was invented. The outdoor theme park comprises six major thematic zones, namely the Ancient Rhyme of Huizhou, Spring and Summer of the Operatic Circle, Joyous Water Town, Ancinet City of Chao Lake, Butterfly Dream Wonderland, and Battle of Fei River, all of which integrate Hui opera and historical stories into all recreation projects. In particular, the Huizhou Folk Street not only exhibits the classic beauty of Hui style architecture, but also brings together famous old shops, folk merchandise and specialty dining. In particular, the Hui architectural style has been adopted for the entire hotel cluster built around the lake. The six-star Wanda Vista Hotel has white walls and black tiles, a bamboo grove and artificial mountains, with Hui elements running through every detail inside and outside the hotel, capturing the essence of Hui architecture. The hotel and the lake are thoroughly integrated, and is truly magnificent.

3. All-out effort to present water characteristics. Water is the soul of Hefei Wanda City. Chao Lake, one of China's five largest fresh water lakes, is located next to Wanda City, and the endless prospect of the lake creates a natural scene. Wanda City's hotel district also boasts a 200,000 square meter artificial lake and bio-environmental protection technology is used to treat the water. The water is clear and its quality is at the national type 2 to 3 water standards. Elsewhere, amusement projects with water as theme in Wanda City can be found everywhere. The Wanda water park is the largest indoor temperature controlled water park in China with the most advanced facilities. The outdoor theme park is centered on the large artificial lake. The lake show combines fountains and audio photoelectric effects with the aqua show, creating a spectacular dreamlike effect.

After its opening, Hefei Wanda City will become the venue for hosting major events in Anhui Province and Hefei. Activities including China's first IRONMAN triathlon, the Anhui Business Conference, Hefei international marathon, and the Anhui Province tourism conference have already made a decision to be held here. Wanda City will definitely become an important warm, tourism, conference and activity center in Eastern China.

Transportation conditions in Hefei in the era of high-speed rail are extremely good. It is a national grade high-speed rail hub and has direct reach to hundreds of millions of people in central and eastern China. Wanda City is also closely situated to Hefei's central district. Subway No 1 which links the airport, high-speed rail station, and Hefei city directly to the project has already undergone trial operation and is expected to commence operation within the year. Then, those who visit Hefei from around the country, whether by air or subway will be able to get to Wanda City without having to make a transit.

To further make Hefei Wanda City into a world class cultural project, Wanda Group has decided to invest another RMB10 billion in Hefei Wanda City Phase II, with plans to make this into a large indoor recreation project. Construction of Phase II will commence within the year. Hefei Wand City Phase III is in the process of being planned, and brand new businesses will emerge.

Hefei Party Secretary Wu Cunrong said that, Hefei Party Secretary Wu Cunrong said that, Wanda City is a perfect combination of international style and Chinese characteristics, bringing local culture and high technology under one roof. Wu believes this modern and young Wanda City will undoubtedly set a new norm for the industry. Hefei Wanda city is a new city landmark and a new platform to serve the local residents, he said.

Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin said that Wanda is determined to build Hefei Wanda City into a world-class super tourism project, help Hefei to become a world-class tourism destination.