Universal Studios receives the approval of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for their proposed $3.26 billion worth movie theme park to be established in Beijing.

According to the Beijing Morning Post, the Universal Studios theme park, which is set to be built in the cultural and tourism district of Tongzhou, will be catering to residents and visitors by 2019.

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With over 120 hectares of movie-themed attractions upon its opening, the Universal Studios park will later be expanded to a 400-hectare project developed with the Beijing Tourism Group.

According to reports, the 20 billion-yuan project will be jointly owned by the Universal Parks & Resorts and a newly established company Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co.

Reports revealed that the establishment of the theme park is most likely to fuel Tongzhou's development particularly its transport networks, municipal facilities and other environmental programs.

Expected to receive about 8 million visitors upon its inauguration, the Universal Studios Beijing theme park is seen to create about 10,000 job opportunities directly while giving way for a hundred thousand more indirect ones.

A rail link will be built to connect the theme park to the city's center through the eastern 4^th ring road.

Thirteen years in the making, the project is aimed not only at the revenue from the increased tourism state but also to pay  "proper homage to culture in China," as Universal Parks and Resorts Chairman and CEO Tom Williams have explained.

Universal Studios is the most recent addition to U.S. entertainment firms to create an entertainment tourist attraction following other major companies such as Walt Disney, with its $4.4 billion theme park, and DreamWorks Animation, with its $3.1 billion entertainment complex.

Both Disney's theme park and DreamWorks' entertainment complex are expected to be inaugurated by 2016 as U.S. entertainment firms rush to pursue physical attractions in China which has been dubbed to have the second largest economy in the world.

TagsWalt Disney, Universal Studios, DreamWorks Animations