The world's largest Legoland opens its doors to the public

Thousands of visitors flocked to China's first-ever Legoland park, which opened in Shanghai on Saturday, as domestic tourism surged despite weak economic growth. Despite scorching temperatures, Lego fans flocked to the park, the world's largest at 318,000 square meters. "I love playing with Lego and we have a lot of Lego at home, so I wanted to come to Legoland as soon as possible," said Shi, a 35-year-old resident of the nearby city of Hangzhou, who is visiting the park with his wife and child.

Despite China's slow economic growth in recent years, the domestic tourism market grew 18.6% in the first quarter compared to last year, according to official statistics. "Since the (Covid-19) pandemic, I've taken very few trips abroad," Shi said, adding that his family now visits theme parks in China "several times a year." Beijing has announced subsidies to make domestic travel more affordable for Chinese citizens and is encouraging provincial governments to market their attractions extensively on social media.

Legoland will face stiff competition: a new "Spider-Man" attraction at Shanghai Disneyland opened in May, while Warner Brothers is preparing to open a Harry Potter park, also in Shanghai, by 2027. And US toy giant Hasbro announced this week that its giant Peppa Pig park in the southern Chinese metropolis is now "in the creative design phase."

Chinese collectible toy maker Pop Mart has opened an attraction in Beijing featuring life-size versions of its popular Labubu toys. "Different provinces are putting a lot of effort into developing their tourism industries, and all have special attractions," notes Xu, 34, who is visiting Legoland with his children.

But profitability remains a challenge, especially for local companies with lesser-known brands. By the end of 2024, around 40% of parks were still failing to turn a profit, according to state media. Analysts, however, point to a growing retiree population and changes in the job market as key factors driving more Chinese to visit domestic attractions. “The job market is becoming more flexible,” says Ernan Cui, an analyst at Gavekal Research, “and more people have free time to travel.”