Details on the first phase of a AU$500m (US$466m, €348.4m, £276.6m) Chinese Cultural Theme Park north of Sydney, Australia, have been released, with the developers purchasing a 15-hectare (150,000sq m) site from Wyong Council for AU$10m (US$9.3m, €6.9m, £5.5m).

Set to open in 2016 and in Wyong, 90m (145km) north of Sydney, the development will feature 12 main sections — including the Meridian Gate, thanksgiving Temple, Zheng He’s Treasure Ship, arts and crafts workshop, Spring Festival Square and Panda Paradise.

It is hoped the new attraction – to be named Chappypie China Time – would attract Chinese visitors in a similar way to American tourists travelling to EuroDisney – a familiar cultural icon in a new exotic location.

Also touted for the park across the 12 zones is a 4D cinema, waxworks museum, a giant ship, a full-size replica of Beijing's Forbidden City and a nine-storey temple housing a giant Buddha.

A variety of entertainment, cultural, accommodation and retail areas are included, such as a history of calligraphy centre, a theatre for traditional drama and musical performances, Chinese landscape gardens, and a panorama of Chinese history.

The Chinese market has been growing rapidly in Australia, with tourism levels from the country growing by an average of around 20 per cent per annum. In 2012, 700,000 inbound tourists from China to Australia spent more than AU$4bn (US$3.7bn, €2.8bn, £2.2bn), according to a report by Tourism Australia.

Destination NSW’s (New South Wales) China Tourism Strategy predicts that the value of Chinese inbound tourism to NSW will almost double by 2020, becoming the state’s largest international market in terms of visitor arrivals and expenditure.

Australia building AU$500m theme park to attract Chinese tourists

Australia building AU$500m theme park to attract Chinese tourists