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China goes loopy over Snoopy
A new theme park based on the Peanuts character Snoopy, is planned for Shunde City in China, reports the Japanese News Network, Japan Today.
The 'Snoopy fun-fun garden' in Shunde will be built in five phases, the first of which will open in May 2003. The 40,000 square metre park will be located in the downtown area of Shunde in the Guangdong province. Officials from the Shunde government are hoping to turn the district into a new hub for business, culture, tourism and residence.
As well as a 15 metre tall Snoopy, Charlie Brown and other characters, the theme park will feature a fully themed camping site, canoe ride, playground and mini-sized golf course for children .
Investment in the project is $12.1 million and the developer overseeing it is Shunde Jiaxin Realty Development Company. Managing Director Chen Jiye says:
'To attract more tourists, we will initially open the Snoopy theme park for free. '
The Asia Pacific licensing agent for the US comic strip characters says it plans to open two more Snoopy theme parks in mainland China, over the next two to five years. Raymond Mok, Chairman of RM Enterprises (BVI) Ltd says:
' We hope to have one park in the eastern part of China and another in the north, likely to be in Nanjing and Beijing respectively.'