By Melissa Davies
A group of Chinese developers are in the country to discuss their ambitious plans for a New Zealand theme park in China.
Construction is underway and the park is expected to attract millions of visitors each year.
It is hope they’ll then fly here to experience the real thing.
In a phone call that came completely out of the blue, Chinese officials asked Awataha Marae if they would help build a Maori tourist attraction south of Beijing.
“It was a bit of a shock at first, in terms of having a Maori village in the middle of a little town called Qufu in the middle of China – it was a bit of a head scratcher,” says marae spokesman Anthony Wilson.
But it didn’t take them long to be won over by the project – the brainchild of a Chinese developer living in New Zealand.
The park is called ‘The New Zealand Gardens’ – set on 25 square kilometres. It features rock climbing, a gondola and luge similar to that in Rotorua.
Visitors will also experience New Zealand’s agriculture with a vineyard, a kiwifruit orchard, dairy farm, and a golf course with luxury accommodation.
Awataha Marae is about to send the first shipment of carvings for the Maori village.
“One of the things that attracted me at the time to the venture was the commitment to the authenticity of our culture,” says Mr Wilson.
“It’s not going to be some ticky tacky thing.”
Since the project was announced it has been a hive of activity at Awataha. Carvings that would normally take years to complete are being done in a matter of months.
The park’s preparation will create at least 100 jobs for the marae, which doubles as a training school.
“It’s a great opportunity for the rest of the world to know about our culture,” says master carver Eric Korewha.
Millions of tourists are drawn to Qufu every year because it is the birthplace of Confucius.
The theme park developers hope to capitalise on that when they open the park later this year.
3 News