Chimelong set to ring in series of positive changes

Chimelong Group, one of the leading leisure tourism and hotel services operators based in Guangdong, will expand its business by building more facilities in the province, according to a senior executive.

"We will upgrade our facilities in Guangdong as more visitors are expected to take leisure tours in the coming years," said Xiong Xiaojie, marketing director of Chimelong.

Construction is underway of the second phase of Chimelong's Zhuhai Ocean Kingdom, located in the booming Hengqin area, which was approved as part of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone in April 2015.

"Ocean Kingdom is in the heart of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," said Xiong.

"There will be a growing demand for leisure tourism in the area in the near future," he added.

In 2017, the central government made a major strategic decision to promote the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and build up a world-class city agglomeration there.

In addition to Ocean Kingdom, another large project in Qingyuan, in a northern mountainous part of Guangdong, is also under construction.

The Qingyuan facility, featuring natural landscape and rare animals, is expected to attract more than 10 million visitors annually after its completion in 2019.

The new facility, about one hour's drive from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, will include a large forest park and a gene data base of the world's rare animals and plants, as well as other cultural and hotel facilities, according to the company.

Four animal-featured hotels with a total of 4,500 rooms will be built in the Qingyuan facility.

A giant panda base and a South China tiger protection center will also be built at the new facility. The total investment for the entire project will be massive - up to 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion).

According to Xiong, a growing number of provinces and cities have shown interest in introducing the Chimelong brand, but the group wants to continue its presence solely in Guangdong.

"That's because there is very complete and sound infrastructure in Guangdong," Xiong said.

"For example, visitors can come to our facilities either by high-speed trains or airplanes."

Together with its existing facilities in Guangzhou - including safari, bird and water parks - Chimelong, founded in 1989, aims to boost its annual number of visitors from 16 million currently to 30 million.

Its Guangzhou-based safari park is home to giant panda triplets, born early in 2014, and a rare occurrence for the species.

"The expansion of our business is based on an increased number of people who have developed higher demand for leisure family tourism," Xiong added.

(China Daily 10/05/2017 page6)