Universal Studios Opens Beijing Park To Sellout Crowds After 20-Year Wait - Forbes

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Topline

Universal Studios Beijing finally opened its doors to a sellout crowd of Chinese visitors on Monday, scoring a coup for Hollywood and American influence as relations between the two countries fester and Communist Party officials try to crack down on celebrity worship culture.

Key Facts

Tickets for the park reportedly sold out within minutes of going live, with some 10,000 tickets (between roughly $65 and $120 per adult) for the opening day going in just three minutes, according to Reuters.

Chinese state media said 100,000 tickets for the park—including for one of China’s biggest holiday periods this week, the Mid-Autumn festival—were scooped up within 30 minutes, boosting searches for nearby hotels and air travel.

The park is opening 20 years after the resort was first proposed and features Hollywood-driven attractions like Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Minions and Transformers, as well as Universal’s first section dedicated to the Kung Fu Panda movie.

The resort—a joint venture between NBCUniversal and state-owned Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment, which has a 70% stake—is Universal’s fifth park worldwide and its largest.

Key Background

The park’s opening comes as relations between the U.S. and China are at one of their most toxic points in decades, even months after former President Trump’s departure from office. In recent years, both superpowers have exchanged blows on trade, the pandemic, Taiwan, human rights and allegations of widespread cyberattacks, amongst other issues. The park’s opening also comes at a time when Chinese officials are trying to manage what it perceives to be a toxic culture of celebrity worship among China’s internet users. The government has cracked down on broadcasters, shows and social media that it claims encourage this, while wider restrictions have also been placed on children’s online gaming and large tech firms.