Legacy Entertainment unveils design of Beijing Haichang Ocean Park

The design of the highly-anticipated US$700,000,000 Beijing Haichang Ocean Park, located adjacent to Universal Studios Beijing in the city’s Tongzhou district, has been revealed by California-based Legacy Entertainment, a leading theme park and resort design company, and its subsidiary, The Aquarium Design Company.

The 150,000 square metre facility will rank among the world’s largest aquariums upon its debut in 2027. The project is being developed in partnership with Beijing Tongzhou Urban Construction and Operation Group (TCJ).

This project also marks the second cooperation that the Legacy Entertainment team has worked with Haichang, China’s leading Marine Life Park operator.

Barry Kemper, Legacy Chief Operating Officer and one of the owners of the Company, noted “following the success of our design work at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, which opened in 2018, we are honoured to now have this opportunity to create an all-new Ocean Park for Beijing. Visitors familiar with Haichang’s other properties will be delighted to see that for the Beijing Park, we have imagined something completely shocking and truly unique there.”  

The popular Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park recently reported record attendance, having hosted 4,200,000 visitors in 2023. Kemper notes that unlike its sister park in Shanghai, the upcoming Beijing Haichang Ocean Park will be primarily set indoors, accounting for the region’s harsh winter climate.  

To bring the ambitious project to life, Legacy has assembled a team of industry-leading talent, with collaborators including Hetzel Design, Visual Terrain, Management Resources / ProFun, and Rabben Herman Design Office. Working together with Haichang under the shared vision of creating ‘the aquarium of the future’ the team has designed a next-generation facility which incorporates all the latest trends in environmental design, guest experience, and animal husbandry.

According to Kemper, the importance of the new Beijing project extends far beyond this one development for Legacy Entertainment and he adds “Beijing Haichang Ocean Park is the first step in the next wave of tourism development in China. Legacy has been the market leader in the design of themed entertainment attractions throughout China for nearly two decades now, and the upcoming Beijing Haichang Ocean Park is only the first in a series of incredible new projects we have in the works there.

“The confidence from both private and government entities in China to prioritise this massive undertaking is a sure sign that the future of location-based entertainment continues to shine brightly in the world’s fastest-developing tourism market.”

Over the last decade, the Legacy Entertainment team has also been responsible for the design of several of the world’s most celebrated Aquariums and Oceanariums. Among these are The Sea Shell at VinWonders Phu Quoc in Vietnam, and the Chimelong Spaceship in Zhuhai, China, which opened to the public in September 2023 and currently holds seven world records.  

Image. Credit: Legacy Entertainment