Sir Tim Smit is working to bring Eden’s special brand of hands-on environmental education to China, the world’s most populous country – and one of its most polluted
Sir Tim Smit looks like he will finally achieve his ambition for a Chinese Eden, after signing off on a £100m ($152m, €135m) partnership with leading developer China Jinmao Holdings.
The contract for the project – the result of nearly 14 months of negotiations by Smit – was signed in Beijing on 20 September. China Eden is the entrepreneur’s first big building venture overseas and his largest undertaking since the Eden Project opened in a former clay pit in Cornwall in 2001.
The tourism and education destination will be located in Qingdao on the east coast of China, which attracts 63 million tourists a year. The site – which overlooks the whole city – is derelict and environmentally-damaged where the land was once used for salt production and then prawn breeding. Now it will be transformed, fitting in with Eden’s commitment to regeneration and its green credentials.
”We have been approached many times before to create Eden projects, but have always declined as we did not wish to copy Eden in Cornwall,” Smit says. “This opportunity is exciting because our partners share our view that we should build a project that builds on 4,000 years of Chinese relations with the environment and Eden’s fresh approach to education.”
“It feels like we have been given the opportunity to do something very special and important and we are proud to take all that is best from the UK to forge new partnerships in China – for it is here above all other places on earth that the shape of our collective future will be set over the next 20 years,” Smit says.
Since opening, more than 16 million people have visited the Eden Project, which has generated £1.6bn ($2.4bn, €2.2bn) for the wider economy. Among many awards, it was recently named the top British landmark of the 21st century.
Grimshaw, designers of the original Eden Project, has been appointed as lead architects for the new development. Plans for a site in Beijing are also in the pipeline.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
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Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
Sir Tim Smit is working to bring Eden’s special brand of hands-on environmental education to China, the world’s most populous country – and one of its most polluted
Sir Tim Smit looks like he will finally achieve his ambition for a Chinese Eden, after signing off on a £100m ($152m, €135m) partnership with leading developer China Jinmao Holdings.
The contract for the project – the result of nearly 14 months of negotiations by Smit – was signed in Beijing on 20 September. China Eden is the entrepreneur’s first big building venture overseas and his largest undertaking since the Eden Project opened in a former clay pit in Cornwall in 2001.
The tourism and education destination will be located in Qingdao on the east coast of China, which attracts 63 million tourists a year. The site – which overlooks the whole city – is derelict and environmentally-damaged where the land was once used for salt production and then prawn breeding. Now it will be transformed, fitting in with Eden’s commitment to regeneration and its green credentials.
”We have been approached many times before to create Eden projects, but have always declined as we did not wish to copy Eden in Cornwall,” Smit says. “This opportunity is exciting because our partners share our view that we should build a project that builds on 4,000 years of Chinese relations with the environment and Eden’s fresh approach to education.”
“It feels like we have been given the opportunity to do something very special and important and we are proud to take all that is best from the UK to forge new partnerships in China – for it is here above all other places on earth that the shape of our collective future will be set over the next 20 years,” Smit says.
Since opening, more than 16 million people have visited the Eden Project, which has generated £1.6bn ($2.4bn, €2.2bn) for the wider economy. Among many awards, it was recently named the top British landmark of the 21st century.
Grimshaw, designers of the original Eden Project, has been appointed as lead architects for the new development. Plans for a site in Beijing are also in the pipeline.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
up with the National Aquarium of
Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
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