Theme parks turn summer into playtime paradise

With classrooms empty in the summer break and sun high, families are flocking to theme parks, making them some of China's hottest destinations.

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

At the newly opened Legoland Shanghai Resort, visitors are greeted by a 26-meter-tall Dada, the iconic giant LEGO figure, surrounded by colorful and dazzling attractions that create a fairy-tale experience.

"My 5-and-a-half-year-old child has been talking about coming to the resort for half a year. As soon as the tickets became available, we booked them," says 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. Homestay bookings have jumped sixfold. Over two-thirds of hotel bookings in Jinshan are from nonlocal 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.