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Dalian Wanda Group
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Dalian Wanda unveils ambitious Zhaoqing tourism project in latest bet on Greater Bay Area economy

  • Billionaire Wang Jianlin’s group has teamed up with Zhaoqing municipal government to develop the National Tourist Resort by 2022
  • Project cost not disclosed, adding to large-scale investments recently announced in other Chinese provinces

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An aerial view of Zhaoqing city in Guangdong province. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Pearl Liu
Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, is embarking on an ambitious plan in the Greater Bay Area by tapping into the tourism potentials of Zhaoqing city in southern Guangdong province.
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The property-to-entertainment conglomerate has teamed up with the Zhaoqing municipal government to develop a state-level tourist resort by 2022, according to a Tuesday notice on Zhaoqing Fabu, the government’s official WeChat account.

The resort will include holiday and leisure centres, sporting, exhibition and cultural centres and a retail mall. A Dalian Wanda group official confirmed the partnership but declined to comment on the investment outlay.

“We are hoping to make Zhaoqing a world-renowned tourism destination and sporting events city,” Wang was quoted as saying during the signing ceremony. “We will reshape Zhaoqing and its tourism development and make the mega culture and tourism project unprecedented, never to be duplicated and a miracle.”
Wang Jianlin, seen in a file photo taken in April 2017, is expanding his domestic tourism business into Zhaoqing. Photo: AFP
Wang Jianlin, seen in a file photo taken in April 2017, is expanding his domestic tourism business into Zhaoqing. Photo: AFP
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Zhaoqing, located in the western part of Guangdong, is the largest by land area among nine provincial cities which make up the Greater Bay Area with Macau and Hong Kong. The size of the bay area economy is about US$1.65 trillion.

The city’s best selling points to tourists are the picturesque Seven Star Crags and the Dinghu Mountains. It was also home to some of the illustrious names in Chinese history, including the legendary Justice Bao and Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci.

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