Universal Studios’ new Beijing theme park shows Hollywood’s bet on China is paying off
The passionate welcome from Chinese citizens is a reminder of the powerful hold of American movies and culture.
qz.com
Weeks before Universal Studios opened its long anticipated theme park in Beijing, it became clear that US-China tensions wouldn’t dampen its welcome.
Invitations to the park’s
sneak peek on Sept. 1 quickly became a status symbol, with influencers who posted photos of themselves in Harry Potter gear at the park’s Hogwarts Castle prompting a slew of envious comments on social media platform Weibo. Then last week, $99 tickets to visit Universal Beijing Resort on its opening day today (Sept. 20), sold out
within a minute of becoming available on Trip.com, one of China’s largest travel sites. Meanwhile Alibaba-backed travel site Fliggy
sold 100,000 tickets within half an hour, while rooms at one of the park’s two hotels, some of which cost $3,000 per night, were also booked out as fast.
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