The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1987–2010
Beijing's 'Disney of the 80s' ended when its joint-venture contract expired
Beijing Amusement Park, the 1987 Sino-Japanese joint venture, closed on 19 June 2010 when its contract expired — years of losses killed any renewal.
Beijing Amusement Park · 北京游乐园 · 2010-06
What happened
Beijing Amusement Park opened on 18 April 1987 beside Longtan Lake: a joint venture between Beijing Longtan Tourism Development Company and Japan's Kumagai Gumi, with the Japanese side supplying rides and management and the Chinese side the land. With a 62-metre Ferris wheel — then the tallest in the city — it was called 'the Disney of the 80s', Beijing's first large modern amusement park.
It was profitable early on, and then it wasn't. After Beijing won the Olympic bid, land and property values around the park soared while its 41 rides — mostly late-1980s equipment — aged without renewal. Rival Shijingshan Amusement Park ran up over ¥1.2 billion of cumulative revenue while Beijing Amusement Park lost money year after year.
When the 23-year joint-venture contract expired on 17 June 2010, the two sides could not agree on a renewal. The park stopped admitting visitors on 19 June 2010; the site between Longtan Lake and the city moat was earmarked for commercial use, and it would never be an amusement park again.
Why it happened
- 41 rides of late-1980s vintage against a rival that reinvested — the product aged out of the market.
- Years of losses left no case for renewal when the contract expired.
- Olympic-era land values around Longtan Lake made the ground worth more than the park.
The lesson
Beijing's first modern amusement park traded on an 80s reputation while its rides aged for a decade; when the joint-venture contract expired in 2010, years of losses meant nobody renewed.
Aftermath
The closed park stood derelict for years while plans for the site changed repeatedly; it never reopened as an amusement park.
Sources
- 搜狐财经, 2010-06-22 — 北京最早的大型游乐园黯然退场 去向未定 (established 18 April 1987 as a joint venture between Beijing Longtan Tourism Development Company and Japan's Kumagai Gumi, Japanese side providing rides and management, Chinese side the land; contract expired 17 June 2010 and was not renewed due to continuous losses; stopped admitting visitors 19 June 2010 after 23 years; profitable early on, then losses after the Olympic bid drove up surrounding land values; 41 rides mostly late-1980s equipment; rival Shijingshan Amusement Park over ¥1.2B cumulative revenue; 62m Ferris wheel; called 'the Disney of the 80s'; site between Longtan Lake and the moat planned for commercial use)
- 新浪财经, 2010-06-11 — 北京游乐园关门：情怀让位城市发展 (Beijing Amusement Park closing as sentiment gives way to urban development; closure tied to the expiring joint-venture contract and the park's financial performance)
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