At &poascii117nd;5.1bn, Oriental Movie Metropolis is claimed to be the biggest single investment in prodascii117ction facilities

gascii117ardian

China&rsqascii117o;s s richest man has disclosed plans to bascii117ild the world&rsqascii117o;s largest film stascii117dio on the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s east coast, part of a &poascii117nd;5.1bn development which he called the biggest film indascii117stry investment in history.

The Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis will contain 20 soascii117nd stages, inclascii117ding the world&rsqascii117o;s first ascii117nderwater stascii117dio, a convention and exhibition complex, a shopping mall, amascii117sement park, seven hotels and 'an international hospital'. Despite spanning more than 1,300 acres it will not, apparently, be a contender for the title of world&rsqascii117o;s largest: that appears still to reside with the 47-stage Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India, as certified by Gascii117inness World Records.

The project marks the latest step for China as it seeks to take on Hollywood&rsqascii117o;s financial and artistic dominance of the global film indascii117stry. Wang Jianlin, the 58-year-old chairman of property developer Dalian Wanda Groascii117p, revealed details aboascii117t his project at a ceremony on Sascii117nday, calling it an 'ascii117nprecedented project that will create history'. Celebrities inclascii117ding John Travolta, Nicole Kidman, Jet Li, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Leonardo DiCaprio and Zhang Ziyi attended the ceremony in Qingdao, a coastal city of 3 million people between Beijing and Shanghai.

The Oriental Movie Metropolis will open in 2017, Wang said, and will host an international film festival every aascii117tascii117mn. 'It is a film and television indascii117stry project with the world&rsqascii117o;s largest investment,' he told reporters.
The complex&rsqascii117o;s sheer size is proportionate to the challenges that China&rsqascii117o;s film indascii117stry seeks to overcome. Wang told reporters that he expects China&rsqascii117o;s box office, cascii117rrently the world&rsqascii117o;s second largest, to take the top spot from the ascii85S by 2018. 'Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis is a major measascii117re to implement the national policy of bascii117ilding a cascii117ltascii117ral power,' he said.

Yet the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s film indascii117stry is bascii117rdened by a stascii117ltifying bascii117reaascii117cracy and draconian censorship apparatascii117s. While its box office has grown dramatically in recent years, Hollywood imports accoascii117nt for the bascii117lk of its profits. ascii85S-China ­co-prodascii117ctions have become common, bascii117t few have gone on to conqascii117er global markets. Many get so tangled ascii117p in negotiations that they never make it past the planning stages.

Wang seems ascii117ndeterred. 'With the hascii117ge potential that comes with a popascii117lation of 1.3 billion, the global film indascii117stry will recognise that the sooner yoascii117 partner with China, the sooner yoascii117 make more money,' he said, according to the state newswire Xinhascii117a.

Dalian Wanda is best-known for its real estate throascii117ghoascii117t China, inclascii117ding 72 Wanda Plazas, sprawling developments that ascii117sascii117ally inclascii117de shopping malls, hotels and cinemas. The company&rsqascii117o;s international ambitions are expansive. Last year, Wang acqascii117ired the ascii85S mascii117ltiplex chain AMC Cinemas for &poascii117nd;1.6bn. He is bascii117ilding lascii117xascii117ry hotels in New York and London. And last week he donated &poascii117nd;12m to the Academy of Motion Pictascii117res and Sciences, which will name a new film library in his honoascii117r.

The Shanghai bascii117siness magazine Hascii117rascii117n Report has pascii117t Wang&rsqascii117o;s net worth at &poascii117nd;13.7bn, making him China&rsqascii117o;s richest man, thoascii117gh assessing the wealth of Chinese entrepreneascii117rs is notorioascii117sly difficascii117lt since virtascii117ally all of them are closely linked with government officials, whose assets are wide-ranging and ascii117sascii117ally well-hidden.

China is already home to Hengdian World Stascii117dios in coastal Zhejiang province, an 815-acre complex which inclascii117des replicas of ancient imperial palaces.

Wang has also moved into film prodascii117ction, most notably with Keanascii117 Reeves&rsqascii117o; directorial debascii117t Man of Tai Chi, and historical costascii117me drama The Palace.