Legoland Shanghai Resort is turning to traditional Chinese stories to attract visitors of all ages, reflecting a trend in China's booming theme park economy as international brands take on distinctly local flavors.
This transformation is unfolding brick by brick at the Legoland park, anchored by a new attraction inspired by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King -- a cornerstone of Chinese folklore and one of its most enduring cultural icons.
From giant Lego-built mountains to colorful adventure zones, the "Monkie Kid" themed area at the Shanghai Resort turns "Journey to the West", the centuries-old classic from which Sun Wukong originates, into an interactive experience.
Children climb through Flower-Fruit Mountain settings, board themed rides, and follow the Monkey King's journey in a space designed to feel part theme park, part storybook.
Lego's Monkie Kid line of toys combines traditional elements from the ancient tale with a modern visual style. Inside the park, that translates into interactive shows, character encounters, and hands-on play spaces built around the Monkie Kid universe.
"A lot of children come here with their families during the holiday. We do get tired sometimes, but seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worth it," said Xiang Wenfu, staff.
The Monkie Kid area's success, bolstered by a dedication to connecting with local audiences through Chinese culture and storytelling, has helped the resort stay ahead as competition intensifies in China's theme park industry.
"Monkie Kid is our first IP inspired by Chinese culture, and Legoland Shanghai is the only park with a dedicated Monkie Kid area. The theme has been hugely popular, and we hope visitors can experience more local culture while having fun," said Wang Tianyi, event manager of Legoland Shanghai Resort.
Beyond entertainment, the trend also reflects a growing confidence in Chinese cultural IP - as classic stories once known mainly through books and television are finding new life through immersive attractions, merchandise, and digital experiences.
Legoland Shanghai builds modern fun out of Chinese classics
China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.
Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.
Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.
"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.
China's development never a threat: FM spokesman
