Zhuhai, Tuesday, 28 October 2025.
Last Wednesday Chimelong opened an US$806.5 million aquatic park in Zhuhai that launched with five Guinness World Records — including the largest underwater viewing dome and the world’s largest aquarium tank — creating a new regional flagship for marine entertainment. For retail and F&B directors, the most intriguing fact is the park’s record-driven draw: landmark attractions that rapidly scale footfall but also concentrate high fixed and operating costs (large-scale life‑support systems, specialised animal care, water treatment). That trade-off shapes revenue strategy: admissions will seed volume, but sustainable margin depends on premium experiences, targeted retail/licensing, and streamlined F&B formats that capture higher spend per visit. Planners should model guest throughput engineering, peak‑day merchandising cadence, and staffing with specialist skill sets. Manufacturers of domes, filtration and life‑support systems, plus regional tourism planners, will want to reassess competitive capacity across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau corridor in light of this new supply.
A landmark opening with record-breaking scale
Last Wednesday Chimelong Group unveiled a US$806.5 million aquatic theme park at its Zhuhai (Hengqin) resort that launched with five Guinness World Records, including the largest underwater viewing dome and the world’s largest aquarium tank, positioning the development as a new regional flagship for marine entertainment [1]. The original project description and record list—cited at opening coverage—attach those superlatives directly to Chimelong’s Ocean Kingdom buildout and list the park’s headline engineering feats and water volume claims [1].
Project pedigree and development context
The park forms part of Chimelong’s broader Hengqin development and reflects a multi‑billion–dollar resort strategy previously described in project coverage, with the theme‑park component conceived as a flagship within a larger entertainment, hotel and leisure cluster on Hengqin Island [1][2]. Hospitality partners and nearby luxury properties already list Chimelong Ocean Kingdom as a primary local attraction, underlining the resort’s role in local tourism catchment planning and travel‑industry positioning [2][3].
What the record‑driven approach means for revenue strategy
Record‑driven attractions are designed to deliver rapid headline footfall growth, but the fixed and operating-cost profile of very large marine systems concentrates capital and ongoing expense in a small set of high‑intensity systems—principally life‑support engineering, water treatment and specialised animal care—which shapes where operators must seek margin beyond admissions [1][GPT]. For commercial directors, that trade‑off typically shifts emphasis toward premium experiences, targeted retail and licensing, and high‑yield F&B formats to lift spend per visit while admissions seed volume [GPT] [alert! ‘The specific revenue mix for Chimelong’s new park has not been published in the provided sources; the statements here are industry generalisations based on standard attraction economics, not disclosed Chimelong financials.’]
Operational implications: staffing and throughput engineering
Large aquarium volumes and specialty exhibits demand staffing with marine‑veterinary and life‑support engineering skills, and they impose throughput constraints that require deliberate guest‑flow engineering on peak days to avoid animal‑welfare and safety pressures [1][GPT]. Planners and operations leads should therefore model peak‑period merchandising cadence, queueing strategies, and specialist rostering to balance guest experience with intensive maintenance schedules tied to filtration and water‑quality regimes [GPT] [alert! ‘Specific staffing numbers and shift patterns for Chimelong’s new park are not disclosed in the supplied sources.’]
Supply‑chain and manufacturing opportunities
The scale of the domes, acrylic panels and aquarium tanks that earned Guinness recognition signals renewed demand for large‑format dome manufacturers, bespoke acrylic fabrication, and industrial life‑support systems for aquaria—segments that should expect procurement and retrofit enquiry across the Greater Bay Area as competing operators reassess capacity and differentiation [1][GPT]. Suppliers of filtration, pumps, and monitoring systems will find clients prioritising redundancy and energy efficiency in projects that replicate Chimelong’s scale [GPT].
Regional tourism and competitive dynamics
As a high‑profile attraction on Hengqin Island, the park reinforces Chimelong’s role in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau corridor’s leisure supply and could influence visit patterns across nearby hotels and attractions that already list Chimelong Ocean Kingdom as a primary draw [2][3]. Planners in the Greater Bay Area will need to reassess catchment assumptions and capacity modelling for cross‑border travel corridors as large‑scale, record‑led attractions like this shift regional demand distribution [1][3][GPT].
Background on the park’s original build and records
Contemporary reporting of the Ocean Kingdom buildout highlights a multi‑year construction programme and an operator strategy that blends rides, shows and large animal exhibits—an approach intended to blur traditional lines between theme‑park thrill products and aquarium viewing experiences; the park’s original coverage referenced the same five Guinness World Records at opening and listed related themed components and attractions [1].
Sources
[1] https://www.sportsmanagement.co.uk/Sports-news/latest/DCMS-secures-82bn-in-UK-Spending-Review/308825
[2] https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/zuhxr-the-st-regis-zhuhai/experiences/
[3] https://www.trip.com/travel-guide/destination/hengqin-island-2149890/
Notes: General industry-context claims are marked with [GPT]. Statements described as uncertain or lacking direct disclosure from the supplied sources are explicitly flagged with [alert! ‘specific reason’] within the text.
Bronnen