It's not quite Disneyland! China opens bleak-looking Hello Kitty theme park... but it cost £210MILLION to build
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To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hello Kitty, the new £210 million theme park centred around the iconic character in east China's Zhejiang province opened its doors for a special inauguration ceremony.
Hello Kitty Park will be China's first large scale amusement park scheduled to open to the public on New Year's day.
Japanese company Sanrio, who created Hello Kitty in 1974, have joined with entertainment design firm Hettema Group from California, to bring their new park to life.
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Entertainers dressed in Hello Kitty costumes Hello Kitty theme park inauguration ceremony
The theme park is set to delight Chinese fans when it opens its doors at the beginning of 2015
The Hello Kitty Park cost around £210 million to construct, and is on schedule for opening
And to celebrate the completion of the construction of the theme park, selected visitors were able to get down and boogie with characters from the well loved phenomena.
Kitty, whose real name supposedly is Kitty White, is a girl who is five apples tall, weighs three apples and has blood type A. She lives in the London suburbs with her parents and her twin sister Mimmy.
Anji, which is also known as the Bamboo Town of China, has noticed a significant growth in tourism in the past few years and the Hello Kitty theme park is expected to attract one million visitors each year.
Known for its luscious scenery with rich forests and natural scenery, Anji is the perfect location for Hello Kitty's new-look 'nature' theme park.
People prepare a celebration to mark the completion of the construction of Hello Kitty Park
According to state media, there are nearly 60 theme parks being built across China at the moment
An aerial view of Hello Kitty Park which is set to attract millions of visitors every year
The Hettema Group are trying to roll-out the outdoor palette theme throughout the theme park.
According to The Hettema Group website, the new Hello Kitty Park will be 'a very special home-away-from home for Hello Kitty and all her friends.'
'Hello Kitty Park is both a festive playland and a natural park, where children learn about the environment through imaginative, hands-on activity,'
Each of nature's five elements will be represented in five unique garden zones.
Wood, Fire, Water, Metal and Earth will have their own designated area within the park and each will help bring the famous Hello Kitty theme park to life.
A world festival area will feature holiday and cultural celebrations such as Chinese New Year.
There will be various interactive and walk-through activities, which will follow the popular Hello Kitty theme.
Hello Kitty Park will be China's first large scale amusement park scheduled to open to the public on New Year's day
Japanese company Sanrio, who created Hello Kitty in 1974, have joined with entertainment design firm Hettema Group from California, to bring their new park to life
Sanrio already owns two theme parks in Japan - Puroland and Harmonyland - which attract millions of visitors every year
Hello Kitty shot to fame when she was created by Sanrio group in the 70s.
Since then, the white cat, with the bright, white, face and big, red, bow has adorned everything from stationary and backpacks to toasters and cars.
Sanrio already owns two theme parks in Japan - Puroland and Harmonyland - which attract millions of visitors every year.
Puroland, which is an indoor theme park based on Japanese cartoon characters, attracts more than 1.5 million visitors every year.
Harmoneyland is located in Hiji, Ōita, Kyūshū and is also based on the famous Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Cinnamon and My Melody.
With both parks exceeding expectations, the new theme park in China is likely to attract over a million visitors each year.
An employee is seen at a store in the Hello Kitty theme park Hello Kitty theme park inauguration ceremony
An employee shows a bra featuring Hello Kitty pattern at a store in the theme park
Attendants were dressed in expected attire to welcome fans of Hello Kitty at the special opening
The brand has a huge following in both China and Japan, mostly among young girls and preteens.
Set amidst a picturesque mountainous backdrop, the new Hello Kitty theme park is expected to open on New Year's Day 2015.
The 9.5-hectare theme park will feature a whole area where Sanrio cartoon characters will set out to save the world
Between 35 and 40 Sanrio characters will be visible at the park and will be incorporated into games, rides, movies and parades.
The new parks will differ vastly from the Puroland and Harmoneyland.
Visitors crowd in front of the Hello Kitty theme park in east China's Zhejiang province
According to The Hettema Group website, the new Hello Kitty Park will be 'a very special home-away-from home for Hello Kitty and all her friends
If you're a fan of Hello Kitty, working at the multi-million pound park will be your dream job
Puroland opened in 1990 and there have been a lot of technological advancement in the 24-years since it was built.
Speaking to inpark magazine, Phil Hettema of The Hettema Group said that people should expect a modern theme park.
'Sanrio has hundreds of characters, each with a unique personality. They have been an integral part of culture in Japan for decades. It's our job to capture them authentically and incorporate them into the fabric of this park,'
'The existing Sanrio parks were done quite a long time ago, and there are new ways to use media now to bring these characters to life and give people the chance to interact with them,'
'The location is one of the greenest parts of China and is really lovely,' he said.
According to state media, there are nearly 60 theme parks being built across China right at the moment.
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