It appears plans to build a home in Shanghai for the globe’s most recognizable rodent have risen at last from the ashes of the Chen Liangyu scandal. Children of the Chinese nouveau riche rejoice! From the The Times:
[Shanghai’s new mayor] Han Zheng put an end to six years of speculation by revealing that the city had at last applied to the central government in Beijing to build its own Disneyland. It would be the second such park in China – the magic kingdom opened its doors in Hong Kong in 2005.
The mayor said that an application had been submitted to the economic planning agency but official approval had not yet been received. “Any big-scale project of this kind has to receive central government approval and Shanghai will, of course, abide by the central government’s decision,” he said.
As The Times’ article notes, the news will come as yet another blow to operators of the beleaguered Hong Kong Disneyland, which launched under the cloud of a wild dog scandal and has been struggling to attract visitors ever since.
