Dalian Wanda Group, the Chinese conglomerate that has interest in real estate and entertainment, inaugurated  the first phase of Hefei Wanda City on Saturday. The first phase of the tourism park in the eastern city of Hefei that focuses mainly on outdoor recreation.

The property, which has an estimated cost of  34 billion yuan ($5.1 billion) in building its first phase, features a theme park, hotels, a sprawling shopping mall and other popular outdoor entertainment facilities, Reuters reported. 

Like Us on Facebook

The second phase will focus on "indoor recreation," according to a statement from the company, while the third phase is still in planning stage.

Wanda Group plans to build more such tourism parks across China in coming years, hoping that the rising income of the Chinese middle class will derive more visitors to its parks.

Wanda Group chairperson Wang Jianlin, who is also China's richest man, revealed to Reuters in an interview last month that his company plans to build 20 such complexes across China.

Wang's aggressive strategy is seen as an open challenge to Walt Disney Co, which opened its $5.5 billion resort in Shanghai in June with a lot of fanfare.

It can be recalled that China's richest man publicly challenged Walt Disney in an interview with state-run China Central Television (CCTV) in May. He said his company will ensure that Walt Disney is not profitable for 10 to 20 years.

The Wanda Group has been aggressively focusing on entertainment business, which falls under the company's cultural division, to triple its revenue growth.

To pursue this goal, the company on Friday announced a long-term partnership with Sony Pictures, which will allow it to market the movie outfit's films and co-finance some upcoming movie releases of Sony Corp's film unit in China.   

TagsDalian Wanda, Dalian Wanda Group, wang jianlin, Wanda Tourism Park, Hefei Wanda City, Dalian Wanda Group Investments