Theme parks heat up summer fun

As summer rolls in, with children out of school, families are flocking to theme parks, making them some of China's hottest summer destinations.

This year, theme park bookings have soared by 70 percent year on year, according to data from the Chinese travel services platform Qunar.

In the newly opened LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort, visitors are greeted by a 26-meter-tall "Dada," the iconic giant LEGO figure. Surrounding colorful and dazzling attractions make them feel like stepping into a fairy tale.

"My five-and-a-half-year-old child has been talking about coming to the resort for half a year. As soon as the tickets were available, we booked them," said a visitor surnamed Wang. "My child loves the park, taking photos with every character and enjoying every ride."

Since its opening on July 5, the LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort has injected new vitality into China's theme park market, boosting local and surrounding cultural tourism consumption.

Data shows that the park is expected to welcome 2.4 million visitors this year. This summer, the surrounding hotels in Jinshan district, where the park is located, have seen a 3.5-fold increase in bookings compared to the same period last year, and the increase in homestay bookings has reached a remarkable sixfold. Over two-thirds of the hotel bookings in Jinshan are from non-local visitors.

Similarly, the Universal Beijing Resort has also shown its economic power. In its first year of operation, it drove a 367.4 percent increase in revenue for the cultural and entertainment industries in Tongzhou district and a 122.6 percent increase in accommodation revenue.

According to the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, every 1 yuan (14 US cents) earned by a theme park can generate 3.8 yuan for the city and drive 6 to 15 yuan in revenue for upstream and downstream industries