Wanda vs. Disney: Which theme park will prevail?

[Photo/Weibo]

Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property company, recently launched its second theme park in Hefei, Anhui province. Undeterred by competition with Shanghai Disney, opened in June, Wanda Group remains optimistic about its odds for theme park dominance in the Chinese mainland.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of the group and the richest man in China, invested 34 billion RMB ($5.1 billion) in the new Hefei Wanda City, which includes an outdoor theme park, an indoor water park, a shopping mall, a cinema, dozens of restaurants and bars and a cluster of luxury hotels.

At the opening ceremony on Sept. 24, Wang revealed that Wanda is determined to make Hefei Wanda City “a world-class tourism attraction.” The company plans to build as many as 20 more such parks across China by 2020.

Wang has been vocal about his vision to compete with Disney. In an interview with Chinese State television in May, just weeks before the unveiling of Shanghai Disney Resort, Wang stated his belief that Disney had made a mistake in coming to China, arguing that the California-based entertainment giant's "one tiger" would prove no match for Wanda's "pack of wolves."