2010-12-08 13:51

HEFEI - Fantawild Dream Kingdom, a theme park in Wuhu City in east China's Anhui Province featuring amusement facilities with Chinese elements like the legendary Monkey King, opened on a trial basis Wednesday.

The theme park comes after Fantawild Adventure Theme Park opened three years ago in Wuhu.

Shenzhen-based Huaqiang Group Co. developed both theme parks.

A company spokesman said Fantawild Dream Kingdom covers an area of 500,000 square meters and was built with an investment of 1.8 billion yuan ($270 million).

It boasts a dozen independently developed amusement facilities that showcase popular Chinese elements like the terra-cotta warriors and the Chinese Zodiac.

The new theme park emphasizes personal involvement in fun while the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park features sight-seeing.

"The two theme parks will turn Wuhu into a more attractive city for tourists," the spokesman said.

The Fantawild Adventure Theme Park drew more than 2 million tourists last year.

Wuhu City is about 400 km west of Shanghai, where Disney's Shanghai project was launched in November.

The 25 billion yuan Shanghai Disneyland is expected to cover an area of four square kilometers. It is not known when construction on it will begin.