CCTV News: During the window period when students are taking their autumn vacation, theme parks have become the choice of many families. How to fully develop the value of IP and innovate consumption scenarios is an important starting point for stimulating theme parks and regional consumption. Shanghai Legoland, which opened on July 5, 2025, is currently the largest Legoland park in the world. How does the park develop the representative IP symbol of building blocks?
On weekday mornings, there is a long queue at the ticket gate of Legoland Shanghai. There are families with children in the queue, as well as many students going on a group autumn outing.
The theme areas of the park are very popular, and visitors can immerse themselves in a fantasy journey built with building blocks. At the front desk of the park hotel, many families were checking in. At the same time, the "Building Block Architect" competition in the hotel activity area was in full swing.
It is understood that after checking into the hotel, children can participate in many themed activities such as treasure hunts, creative workshops, and character meetings. Theme hotels have become a key location for “retaining guests in the park”.
Yang Yuning, chief marketing officer of Legoland Shanghai Resort, said that more and more tourists from cities within a 3- to 5-hour high-speed rail circle are visiting, and many families regard the hotel experience as the most unforgettable part of the entire trip.
In the cultural and creative store of the park, customized exclusive minifigures have become a star item. Visitors can purchase such a carton for 99 yuan. Start creating your own minifigure on the machine, choose your favorite stickers and decorations, select headwear and clothing in the accessories area, and you will get your own minifigure. Since its opening more than a year ago, its sales have exceeded 60,000 pieces.
According to the person in charge, there are currently 10 retail stores in the park with over 1,500 cultural and creative products, and several popular products are out of stock. In restaurants, building block popsicles and building block burgers are very popular. The total sales volume of Lego minifigure-shaped popcorn buckets priced at 198 yuan has exceeded 62,000 pieces since the park opened. In addition, creative building courses with the theme of Lego IP also attracted many tourists to experience it.
There are a total of 6 classrooms here, with 30 classes every day. Today, every classroom is basically full. In addition, paid courses of 198 yuan per session are also favored by many families. Children will put on special costumes and experience the building process immersively.
The person in charge of the park said that the willingness to consume in the park often starts with an experience. After taking a building class, you can buy a box of building blocks; after watching a performance, you can buy the same products as the characters, forming a complete chain of exclusive experiences and stimulating consumption.
Xu Lijie, commercial director of Legoland Shanghai Resort, said that half of the park's revenue comes from ticket sales, and nearly half of the other half comes from secondary consumption, which includes retail, catering and hotels.
Zhang Chaozhi, a professor at the Department of Tourism at Fudan University, said that theme parks are transforming from single amusement attractions to comprehensive cultural tourism destinations. Through the storytelling of IP, the immersion of theme experiences and the personalization of services, tourists' consumption patterns are leaping from "one-day check-in" to "multi-day in-depth travel".
Anyang, Henan: Let Oracle "move" and Yin Shang Theme Park activates cultural tourism consumption
A small building block can leverage nearly half of a theme park's revenue, and rich historical and cultural heritage is also a valuable IP resource. Anyang, Henan is the place where oracle bone inscriptions were discovered. How can the local theme park fully display the charm of Yin Shang culture and activate cultural tourism consumption?
In the lively antique streets and alleys, scenic actors dressed in ancient costumes walked around and interacted with tourists. In the ring-screen auditorium and special theme theater, the changing light and shadow, combined with dynamic rotating devices and three-dimensional surround sound effects, make visitors feel as if they have traveled back to the historical scene of the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago.
Anyang, Henan Province has rich historical relics of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Based on this unique historical IP, the local area has built the first Yin and Shang theme park scenic area in China, integrating historical facts and rich cultural symbols of the Shang Dynasty into amusement projects and transforming it into an immersive experience scene that is visible, perceptible and participatory.
The interactive terminals held by tourists are equipped with virtual reality technology, which makes the obscure oracle bone inscriptions come alive: the oracle bone inscriptions such as sun, moon, sky, mountain, water and so on are presented in sequence with modern Chinese characters, intuitively showing the origin of the text.
Yang Guodong, general manager of Anyang Fangte Yin Shang Shenhua, said that digital technology is used to record archaeological discoveries in cultural relics and form interactive scenes, creating content that cannot be copied by others.
The catering business in the scenic spot is also deeply embedded with Shang cultural elements: the space decoration draws on the patterns of the Shang Dynasty, and the food presentation is integrated with the creativity of oracle bone inscriptions, making food an integral part of the immersive cultural experience.
From the waiting sign when ordering to the oracle bone cutlery packaging, even the noodles are written with oracle bones in squid ink. This one says "Young and Promising".
As night falls, Yin and Shang themed cultural parades and large-scale live performances are launched in turn. After a trip, many tourists often stay in the park for a whole day, changing the short-distance check-in mode that ended in an hour or two. Performing arts, research, cultural creation, and specialty catering jointly build a multi-level theme consumption scene.
Yang Guodong said that this change is essentially a shift from selling entertainment projects to delivering a cultural experience. At present, the park's out-of-town passenger flow has accounted for more than 50%. Through in-depth cultural tourism, it can not only attract tourists, retain tourists, drive diversified consumption in the park, but also radiate surrounding food and accommodation. Currently, the park’s secondary income accounts for 30% of the total income.
In order to connect the core cultural and tourism resources of Yin Shang, the local government continues to optimize cultural and tourism transportation facilities. During the peak season, free shuttle buses to and from the theme park and the Yin Xu Museum are opened, linkage discount packages are launched, city bus lines are upgraded, and a complete Yin Shang cultural tour circuit is strung together to attract more tourists to carry out in-depth city tours, and the vitality of the long-term cultural tourism market continues to be released.
Harbin, Heilongjiang: Technology empowers polar theme park to innovate experience consumption scenarios
From a single sightseeing check-in to immersive interaction, theme parks in various places have made good use of their own unique IP passwords to accelerate the transformation from "ticket economy" to "comprehensive consumption destination".
This technology-rich sphere is an AI interactive digital media giant ball spliced by the creative team using tens of thousands of customized LED screens. Standing here without wearing glasses, tourists can enjoy 360-degree 8K naked-eye 3D effects on polar wonders, fantasy universe, animal carnival and other themes.
Harbin Polar Park is a theme park featuring the observation of polar animals and popular science research. In recent years, the park has integrated virtual reality VR and AI digital human technologies into various projects through digital empowerment. Visitors no longer just watch, but can also ask, chat and interact.
Various polar-themed shows are also ways to innovate cultural tourism experiences. Seven themed shows, including the sea lion and walrus talk show, glacier aurora show, and water dance show, enhance the immersion in the theater and attract millions of domestic and foreign tourists every year.
Ren Shibo, deputy general manager of Harbin Polar Park, said that it not only attracts domestic tourists, but also attracts many foreign tourists. The number of foreign tourists has increased significantly, with a year-on-year increase of 123% from January to September.
Traditional research projects have also added more interactive links, shifting from static viewing to dynamic experience, allowing students to immerse themselves in the magic of the ocean world.
At the same time, the park has also created a number of seasonal free landscapes such as autumn towns and winter snow wonderland to enrich the space for sightseeing and check-in. In order to further retain tourists and increase the return rate, the park has also launched an innovative ticketing policy, upgrading traditional single-day tickets to one that allows repeated entry within three months of ticket purchase by swiping your face, and launching a special themed hotel with polar bears to drive multiple visits from local and surrounding tourists. Stretch the one-time consumption of "watching the excitement" into the compound consumption of food, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment.
According to Ren Shibo, from January to September, the overall number of visitors to the Polar Bear Hotel increased by 14%, and the number of children's study teams increased by 20%. Before doing this, tourists’ tour lasted only half a day. By upgrading, tourists can stay here for two days or more.
