Harry Potter, riding a broom, wants to save the ruined Jinjiang Park

 author|Wenlv Yu Jiayan 

Shanghai’s theme park market is on the rise again.

Following international theme parks such as Shanghai Disney, Legoland, and Page Piggy Theme Park, there will be another strong IP Harry Potter.

The latest news is that Jinjiang International Group announced that it has signed a joint venture framework agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery Group’s Global Experience Division to jointly develop the birth of Warner Bros.(Shanghai) Studio Tour Harry Potter (abbreviated as: Harry Potter Studio Tour).

Although there are already theme park overlords like Disney, well-known international theme park brands such as Legoland still want to find opportunities in Shanghai to take a chance. Today, there is another one.

 Shanghai people’s memories of the times

It is reported that Harry Potter is located in Shanghai Jinjiang Park, which has a history of more than 40 years, and is affiliated to the Jinjiang Tourism Section of Jinjiang International Group.

This was once the first large modern amusement park in Shanghai City. You should know that when Jinjiang Park opened in 1985, it could receive 28053 tourists a week, with a maximum of 7680 people in a single day.

By 1995, Line 1 was opened and the weekend system was implemented, and the annual number of tourists to Jinjiang Park could reach 2.3 million.

Just like Shanghai at the time, Shanghai was everyone’s dream, and Jinjiang Park can be said to be an ideal place for countless Shanghainese people.

Today, Shanghai Jinjiang Park officially closed on January 26. As of its closure in 2025, the park has received more than 25 million tourists.

The day before the park was closed, Jinjiang Park became popular again. Many Shanghainese came with their families to check in and bid farewell on social media.

Some netizens said that when I was a child, what my parents wanted most was to take me to Jinjiang Park. There were towering Ferris wheels, speeding roller coasters, and music boxes that could make various sounds. Each of them was a shining existence in childhood.

Go with your classmates while studying and laugh and play on the merry-go-round; go with your partner when you are in love and overlook the lights and night view on the Ferris Wheel.

Everyone used their own way to bid farewell to it, and for a moment, it returned to its prosperous and heyday.

 The ruined Jinjiang Park 

Compared with the hustle of people on the last day, Jinjiang Park can be said to have become increasingly depressed in recent years.

As early as 2021, some netizens shared their experience of playing Jinjiang Park. Unexpectedly, at 1 pm on the weekend, there would be no tourists in the park. The park was so deserted that it made people feel sad.

However, several staff members were still seen maintaining greening and amusement facilities in different parks. Later, at 2 or 3 p.m., some people could be vaguely seen, but there were only a dozen people in the entire amusement park.

There is no need to queue for any event to play at the same time, but you need to wait for a fixed time for the event to depart, just like train flights, with the interval not too long. But I have to say that playing again many years later, I don’t seem to feel much anymore.

Jinjiang Park, which seems to have lost its popularity, has also begun to fall into ruins. The problem of aging equipment has become increasingly prominent and will not be dealt with or resolved for a long time.

The Peak One of the Ace Roller Coaster Project has been broken down for three years due to parts problems. The most classic roller coaster was stopped in 2016 and was later demolished.

Netizens who visited in 2023 also said that nearly one-third of the projects in the park were not open, and they would not have come if they had known.” rdquo;

In everyone’s opinion, Jinjiang Park is now basically in a dilapidated state. It can only rely on simple light exhibitions and various small workshop-style theme planning to sell low-priced tickets to survive.

There is no doubt that the Jinjiang Park that once dominated Shanghai has been eliminated by the times.

 Has the savior of Jinjiang Park appeared?

 This trip to the Harry Potter Studio at Jinjiang Park is expected to have a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan and will start operating in 2027.

This is the first time that the Harry Potter Studio Tour has been launched in China. It is also the third Harry Potter theme park after London, England and Tokyo, Japan.

It is reported that the Harry Potter Studio Tour (Shanghai) is expected to cover an area of 53000 square meters, which can account for about half of the area of Jinjiang Park.

According to official information, the Harry Potter Studio Tour (Shanghai) is not an amusement park, but more like a Harry Potter Studio Tour similar to a museum experience project. It will also launch Western-style themed restaurants and hotels.

It can be clear that 90% of the tour routes of the Harry Potter Studio tour are indoor, and a full reservation system is adopted. The entire tour takes about half a day for tourists.

With the release of news of the reconstruction of the park, netizens are more worried about what will happen to the fate of China’s first giant Ferris wheel. The official also gave a clear answer. Except for the hotel and Ferris wheel, all the original amusement facilities in the park will be demolished.

The remaining Ferris wheel will also be upgraded from 108 meters to 168 meters. The design elements will not involve Harry Potter related content.

In response to netizens ‘previous complaints, the parking lot of Jinjiang Park is too small and the location of public transportation is awkward. The official explanation is that after the renovation and upgrading, Jinjiang Park will have an underground parking garage to relieve the parking pressure of citizens.

Judging from the current experience projects, there are only the Harry Potter set experience and the Ferris Wheel, but the business format covers hotels and catering. But if it only takes half a day to play, then you have to ask who would choose to spend the night in a hotel. That may mean that other new experience projects are likely to be introduced in the future.

Although it is impossible to predict the popularity of the Harry Potter Studio Tour (Shanghai), judging from the operating conditions of the UK and Japan, which have already opened, it can also give a lot of confidence.

In particular, the British project, which has been in operation for many years, has been one of the highest-rated attractions in the world on TripAdvisor since it opened in 2012. During the peak period, more than 6000 tourists are received every day, which shows its popularity.

Data for 2023 showed that the company behind the Warner Bros. Harry Potter studio trip in London achieved a pre-tax profit of £ 100.8 million, a significant increase from £ 79.7 million in 2022.

It is also worth mentioning that the Harry Potter Taboo Tour of the Beijing Universal Resort, which also has Harry Potter IP, can be said to be one of the most popular attractions in the resort. What can also be confirmed from the side is the important position of the Harry Potter IP in the minds of China people.

Another key point that cannot be ignored is that the actual controller of Jinjiang International Group is the Shanghai City State-owned Assets Management Commission, which covers almost many industries such as hotels, tourism, passenger transport, real estate and industry. It directly or indirectly controls four listed companies.

In particular, it is also seen among Chinese investors in Shanghai Disney. It is one of the main investors, with a shareholding ratio of 25%. It can be said that in the tourism industry, Jinjiang not only has strength but also experience.

In this way, Jinjiang Park has changed into a new way of living. However, judging from the opening time in 2027, it is estimated that Jinjiang Park will not dare to slack off. After all, it will have to compete head-on with many well-known international IPs such as Shanghai Disneyland, Legoland, and Piggy Page Theme Park. nbsp;