A $215-million Hello Kitty theme park celebrating the cute cartoon cat with a cult-like following will open in China in 2014.
Construction is expected to begin in July on the 150-acre theme park in China's Zhejiang province, about three hours west of Shanghai, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
Plans for the first Hello Kitty theme park outside Japan closely follow the recent announcement of Shanghai Disneyland, set to open in late 2015 or early 2016.
With a million visitors expected annually, the new park will target families with preteen children, and young women who collect merchandise bearing the likeness of the white bobtail cat with the red bow.
Since her 1974 debut, Kitty has spawned a global industry that sells tens of thousands of products, including dolls, clothes, televisions, toasters, wine and jewelry.
Parent company Sanrio currently operates two Hello Kitty theme parks in Japan: the 500,000-square-foot indoor Puroland just outside Tokyo and the 60-acre outdoor Harmonyland in the Kyushu prefecture on the southern end of the country.
For the uninitiated, a Hello Kitty theme park looks like a cross between Legoland, Thomas Town kiddie lands and Disneyland's Fantasyland, with a heavy dose of Japanese cute and cuddly "kawaii" kitsch.
Dubbed "The Cutest Place on Earth," the theme parks offer rides, shows, movies, games and parades based on Hello Kitty and her friends My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Badtz-Maru and others.
Attractions at Puroland include "Time Machine of Dreams" special effects 3-D film and "Hello Kitty in the Magical Land of Oz" musical revue. Attractions at Harmonyland include a 200-foot-tall Wonder Panorama Ferris Wheel; Sky Jet miniature monorail that riders operate themselves; and a nighttime spectacular featuring lasers, lights and fireworks.
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