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
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
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.
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.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
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