Ready for the big league

With bullfighting expected to be a big attraction of the future European town, many Spanish businesses involved in this area are coming forward for possible tie-ups.

Cidalia Rola, a horse raiser based in Portugal, is raising riding horses for matadors. Recently she took a big order - 30 bulls and six riding horses - from the Anshun European town developers, for future use in bullfighting. Each horse costs 2 to 3 million yuan.

Yang Xiangdong, a major real estate developer, estimates that the entire bullfighting project will cost 120 million yuan, including 400,000 euros ($510,465) to fly the animals from Europe to Anshun.

A digital rendering of how the "European" township of Anshun will look. The tourism city in Southwest China's Guizhou province hopes to complete the project with European investors. [Photo/China Daily]

Over the next two years, a Chinese ethnic town with investment of 500 million yuan will break ground first, while developers continue to search for more European investors. From 2014, the focus will switch to the European town project, Yang Xiangdong says.

When completed in 2016, the bullring will be able to hold 6,000 spectators every day, and the shows are expected to generate annual revenue of 80 million yuan.

To boost local tourism, Yang says the University of Aveiro from Portugal, known for tourism management courses, will set up a campus in Anshun.

"Students will study for three years in Guizhou and then one year in Portugal," Yang Xiangdong says, adding that tourism product design will be an important course, as there are now very few souvenirs available in Anshun.

Chow Yiping, president of the Association of Chinese in Portugal, says his association will help boost alliances between Anshun and Portugal, starting with the trade segment.

A digital rendering of how the "European" township of Anshun will look. The tourism city in Southwest China's Guizhou province hopes to complete the project with European investors. [Photo/China Daily]

Chow has lived in Portugal for more than 40 years and has good connections with local officials and businessmen.

He is also pressing the Portuguese government to sign a cooperation agreement with Anshun, and later to expand it to the entire Guizhou province.

"Anshun needs to publicize itself to the Western world, as many other Chinese cities need to do. Although Portugal is a small nation, it is a European Union country. If the cooperation succeeds, it will help us to reach out to more European countries."

wangchao@chinadaily.com.cn