The Legacy Entertainment-designed Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park won three major awards at this year’s “Golden Crown Awards”: “Outstanding Themed Land Park,” “Outstanding Family Entertainment Center” and “Outstanding Social Media Famous Tourist Attraction.” The awards were presented on December 10th during the 2020 Amusement World Cultural Tourism Development Summit held at the Yinji International Tourism Resort in Zhengzhou, capital of China’s Henan Province.
These recognitions are the latest for Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, a major marine life theme park which welcomed over 3,000,000 guests in its inaugural year. In 2019, Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park was named “Best Theme Park” by China’s largest theme park organization, CAAPA (Chinese Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions), while one of the park’s signature attractions, Lava Drifting, was recognized with IAAPA’s Brass Ring Award for innovation. Haichang invested over $700,000,000 to build the 73-acre theme park in Shanghai’s Pudong district. The park, which debuted in November 2018, is a primary competitor to the nearby Shanghai Disneyland resort.
“From the start of this project in 2013, Haichang was firm in their commitment to building a marine life park that would set a new standard for domestic Chinese audiences,” said Taylor Jeffs of Legacy Entertainment, the park’s designer. “Obviously we are thrilled to see their audacity has paid off, not only in satisfied customers, but also in recognition from their peers.”
In recent years, Legacy Entertainment has become one of the world’s leading aquarium and zoo design firms, with several high-profile developments currently under-construction. Among them is the Chimelong Marine Science Center, currently slated to debut in mid-2021 in Zhuhai, China. Upon its launch, it is expected to claim the record of ‘World’s Largest Indoor Theme Park,’ boasting nearly 4,000,000 square feet of guest area. Another collaboration between Chimelong and Legacy Entertainment, Chimelong Forest Kingdom, held its formal groundbreaking ceremony on November 20, 2020, and construction is anticipated to take around three years.
Further south, Legacy Entertainment’s first project in Vietnam is also slated for a mid-2021 debut. The Sea Shell aquarium, located at the VinWonders Theme Park complex on the island of Phu Quoc, is the largest aquarium ever built in the southeast Asian country. Its façade, inspired by local folklore, takes the form of a giant turtle which has just emerged by the Gulf of Thailand a few steps away.
