China's richest man to build world's largest film studio

Dalian Wanda Group, owned by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, unveiled a plan on Sunday to build the world's biggest film studio in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao. The property and entertainment conglomerate intends to invest 30 billion yuan (almost 5 billion U.S. dollars) in the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, which will consist of 20 studios including one - which Wanda says will be the world' s largest - of 10,000 square meters and a permanent underwater stage. The 540-hectare park will include a movie theater, wax museum, exhibition center, yacht club, hotels and other cultural and tourist facilities. Expected to be completed in 2017, the park will host around 30 foreign production groups and at least 100 domestic teams annually. Wang, who acquired the America-based cinema operator AMC last year, has high hopes for China's film industry, estimating the nation's box office will surpass that of the United States by 2018. He expects domestic film revenue to be double that of the U.S. by 2023. The center is part of Wang's cultural development strategy and an attempt to create Chinese cultural brand. With huge the potential that comes with a population of 1.3 billion, the global film industry will recognize that the sooner you partner China, the sooner you make more money, he said.