China Unveils $10b Movie Metropolis To Rival Hollywood

Qingdao Movie Metropolis (Photo Credit: NAN)

China has made a bold and solid move to boast their Movie Industry as she unveils a massive “movie metropolis” that would give Hollywood a run for it money. The massive “movie metropolis” is aimed at boosting the domestic film industry and attract foreign producers.

according to the project’s initiator, Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, which is owned by one of China’s richest men Wang Jianlin, a total of 50 billion yuan ($7.9 billion) has been invested in building the studio complex in the eastern port city of Qingdao.

Qingdao Movie Metropolis (Photo Credit: NAN)

The unveiling Ceremony of the “metropolis” was not throng with a-list stars as we had it during that inauguration of the project in 2013, when stars like   Leonardo DiCaprio, John Travolta and Nicole Kidman showed up for a lavish event.

The size of 500 football fields, the 376-hectare “Qingdao Movie Metropolis” features 30 studios with “the highest international standards”, according to Wanda.

High-profile productions, including “The Great Wall” starring Matt Damon, and “Pacific Rim: Uprising”, have been hosted by the motropolis.

Qingdao Movie Metropolis (Photo Credit: NAN)

The vast accommodate  a school, a hospital, luxury hotels and a yacht club inspired by one in Monaco.

The Mini-city which accommodates the largest in movie theatre in Asia, is also known to have a giant shopping mall with restaurants, an ice skating rink, an amusement park.

Wanda, whose interests range from real estate to entertainment, snatched up Legendary Entertainment — maker of “Jurassic World” and Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy — for $3.5 billion in 2016, as well as US-based cinema chain AMC Theatres.

“This is the largest investment the global film and television industry has ever seen,” the company said.

In a bid to ease its debt problems, Wanda last year sold dozens of hotels and other projects to Sunac and real estate firm R&F Properties for around $10 billion