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Walt Disney Co. officially opened its new Hong
Kong theme park on Monday, exporting a piece of the Magic Kingdom to
China's doorstep in a bold bid to gain a bigger foothold
in the vast
Chinese market.
A troupe of Chinese lion dancers in gold and red emerged from the gates
of Sleeping Beauty's Castle to chase away evil spirits and bring good
luck.
"China is an important area for us to move forward in and building a
Hong Kong Disneyland will certainly introduce everyone to who we are,"
Robert Braunstein, senior show program manager for the park, told
reporters.
Both the company and the government have high hopes resting on the
success of the park, Disney's first in China and its second in Asia after
Japan.
Disney is clearly hoping that millions of Chinese visitors to the park
will bring home a taste for its products, from mouse-ear caps and stuffed
toys to DVDs.
The park is also expected to give a major boost to
Hong Kong's economy, creating tens of thousands of much-needed jobs and
generating $19 billion in revenue
at the venue over 40 years.
Some visitors at rehearsals have complained of waiting for hours for
rides and food and said that the park is too small. At 126 hectares (311
acres), it is less than half the size of the original Disneyland in
California.
The park cost $1.8 billion to build, with another $2 billion spent to
reclaim land for the project and build public services.
The Hong Kong government, which owns 57 percent of the park, has been
accused of giving up too much in its negotiations with Disney, while other
critics fear Disney could eventually open another park in Shanghai,
damaging profits.
"I don't think it would be a threat. We have two locations in America,"
Braunstein said.
Nevertheless, Mickey mania has swept this city of
nearly 7 million people on China's southern coast. Disney shirts and
souvenirs
are on sale
around town and the park has received wide coverage in Hong Kong media.
Local television stations broadcast the opening ceremonies live and
radio stations aired announcements from the government urging people to
plan ahead if they wanted to visit the park.
Thousands of journalists and tourists have descended on Hong Kong for
the opening, one of the biggest media events in the city since the former
British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
The park is expected to draw 5.6 million visitors in its first year,
a third of these from mainland
China.
(Agencies) |
周一，美國沃爾特·迪斯尼公司宣布新建的香港迪斯尼樂園正式開幕。迪斯尼公司大膽地把奇妙王國引入中國，并希望能夠在中國這個巨大的市場分得更大的一塊“蛋糕”。
一群中國傳統的舞獅演員，穿著金色或紅色的演出服，舞著獅子從睡美人城堡中一路走來。他們趕走邪惡的精靈，帶來好運。
“中國對于我們來說是一個非常重要的發展區域，建設香港迪斯尼樂園肯定會讓每一個中國人都了解我們。”樂園負責演出的高級經理羅伯特·布朗斯坦告訴記者說。
不僅是迪斯尼公司，香港政府也對樂園的成功寄予很高的期望，這是迪斯尼在中國建立的第一個主題公園，也是繼日本東京迪斯尼樂園后，在亞洲建立的第二個迪斯尼樂園。
很明顯，迪斯尼公司希望游樂園的數百萬中國游客在盡情游玩的同時把迪斯尼產品帶回家，從印有老鼠耳朵的帽子、填充毛絨玩具到DVD光碟。
迪斯尼樂園還有望大力推動香港經濟的發展，樂園提供了上萬個急需的工作崗位，在未來的40年中還將給香港帶來190億美元的稅收收入。
在前幾天的彩排中，有游客抱怨說為了玩游樂項目或吃飯都要排隊等上幾個小時，他們還抱怨說樂園太小。香港迪斯尼樂園占地126公頃，面積還不到加州迪斯尼樂園的一半。
這座樂園的造價為18億美元，另外還花費了20億美元用來征用建造樂園的土地和公共設施建設。
香港政府占有整個樂園股份的57%，但有人指責香港政府在和迪斯尼方面的談判中放棄了太多，還有批評擔心迪斯尼公司可能最終會選擇在上海再投資建造一家樂園，這樣會大大影響香港迪斯尼樂園的旅游收益。
“我想那不會成為威脅，在美國我們同樣在兩個不同的地方建有迪斯尼樂園，”布朗斯坦說。
然而，米奇熱已經席卷了這個位于中國南部海岸的將近七百萬人口的城市。到處都能看到迪斯尼襯衫和紀念品，香港的媒體也紛紛為迪斯尼樂園曝光。
當地電視臺現場直播了樂園的開幕儀式，電臺廣播了香港政府提醒市民如果想去游玩要提前做準備的通知。
上千名記者和游客已經來到香港，期待迪斯尼樂園的開幕儀式。這是自1997年香港回歸中國以來最大規模的媒體盛會之一。
香港迪斯尼樂園預期第一年將吸引560萬游客，其中三分之一來自中國大陸。
（中國日報網站 薛曉文譯） |
Updated: 2005-09-13 08:56
