Hainan 'space park' to compete with Shanghai Disneyland

Hong Kong-listed China Aerospace International Holdings will build a space theme park in China’s island province of Hainan to compete with Shanghai Disneyland, with both parks expected to open in three or four years, the South China Morning Post reported. Zhao Liqiang, president of China Aerospace, a unit of the company that developed the Shenzhou VII spacecraft, said he believed the theme park will be more attractive than Disneyland. "There are so many teenagers and kids who love to see rockets. There are so many space fans [in China]," he said. China’s State Council in September 2007 green-lighted plans to build the country’s fourth national launch centre in Hainan and the theme park is expected to be opened upon the launch site’s completion in 2013.