'European Disney' plans to build theme park in Shanghai

Dargaud Group, Europe's largest comic book publisher headquartered in Paris, France, announces on March 5 that it will build Asia's first "Smurfs" theme park in Songjiang district of Shanghai. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Dargaud Group, Europe's largest comic book publisher headquartered in Paris, France, announced on March 5 that it will build its first Asian "Smurfs" theme park in Songjiang district of Shanghai.

The park, 43.24 hectares in size, will be composed of eight theme areas and 28 attractions. Five themes have been chosen so far -- Magic Martin, Contraptus, Yakari, Marsupilami, and Valerian.

The animation images used in the park are from Dargaud's cartoon character database.

Supporting facilities such as themed retail stores and restaurants will also be built.

The entire park will be designed in a western style and is expected to be operational at the end of 2019.

Vincent Montagne, president of Dargaud Group, said that it is hoped that visitors will have a sweet feeling of warmth when touring around the park with their families, and they also expect the park to be entertaining and educational at the same time.

With a history of eight decades, Dargaud Group is known as the "European Disney". It has produced over 4,000 cartoon characters, 10,000 comic books, and over 2,500 hours of animated films. Its annual revenue reaches about €560 million ($695 million).

An artist's view of the "Smurfs" theme park to be built in Songjiang district, Shanghai[Photo/online.sh.cn]

Smurfs, a representative cartoon character of Dargaud Group, Europe's largest comics publisher headquartered in Paris, France. [Photo/online.sh.cn]