Shanghai Disneyland announced at a news conference on September 5, 2023 that a Zootopia-themed land will debut at Shanghai Disney Resort in late 2023. The under-construction expansion will mark the first time that Zootopia has come to life at a Disney Park. Photo: thepaper.cn

Shanghai city welcomed the launch of the world's first Zootopia-themed land on Wednesday with a grand ceremony at the Shanghai Disney Resort. Following the opening of the first World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland in November, the Walt Disney Company is making another premiere in the Chinese market.

Equipped with advanced robotic animation and information modeling technology, the park offers Chinese tourists an immersive experience in Zootopia, which is the country's highest-grossing imported animated feature film of all time.

The Zootopia-themed land is aimed at leveraging China's booming travel market, with records-breaking travel demand, experts noted.

The opening of Zootopia land marked the second major expansion of Shanghai Disney Resort since it started operation in 2016. The land became the Shanghai park's eighth themed land, enriching travel experience for visitors.

On Tuesday, Shanghai Party chief Chen Jining met with Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and praised Shanghai Disney Resort as a model for the exchange and integration of Chinese and foreign cultures and one of the landmark projects of China's reform and opening-up, according to the WeChat account of information office of Shanghai Municipality

As urbanities' consumption gains pace, people in Shanghai have greater expectations for high-quality cultural experiences. The city welcomes Disney to seize the new opportunities, and increase its investment in Shanghai, Chen said.

Shanghai Disney resort is Walt Disney's largest overseas project, and the company is proud of the success and confident in the development of China. The company's commitment to continue to invest in China is unwavering, Iger said.

The Shanghai Disney Resort expected to receive record-breaking visitors this year, as the park had already welcomed more than 13 million guests in 2023, according to Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences at the opening ceremony of Zootopia land.

Boosted by the opening of Zootopia land, Shanghai Disney expects larger visitor groups in the coming days, according to Tongcheng Travel, adding ticket bookings for the resort have tripled in the past week. 

Along with the newly-opened World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disney Resort, the Walt Disney Company is spurring a theme-park travel heat in China.

Shanghai attracted 2.3 million inbound trips in the first three quarters of 2023. The city expects to receive over 3 million inbound trips by the end of the year, according to Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.