It’s to be part Xanadu, part Neverland Ranch -- all Jackie Chan.
The Hong Kong action superstar said at an event in Beijing that he plans to build a theme park called "JC World" in the city's Yizhuang district, the Malaysia Times reports.
The kung fu star said he will build the Chinese park with a local partner, but didn’t disclose the company’s name or when he hopes to break ground.
Chan said the park will be about three-quarters of a square mile in size and will feature five sections, each with a different theme, offering visitors a variety of "cultural experiences."
“I want to exhibit all my stuff. They may not all be worth a lot of money, but they may have a story behind them,” Chan told the paper.
The actor didn’t elaborate as to whether the park will include rollercoasters, rides and games, as per amusement park standard around the globe, but he did say he will exhibit items from the personal collection of artifacts he has amassed over the course of his four-decade career, such as special furniture, antique houses and jewelry.
“I was very poor when I was a child, so when I had money later on, I bought all sorts of things and went around the world collecting them,” he added.
Chan has a collection of 10 historic Chinese sandalwood houses, which he bought in the country’s Anhui province during the 1990s. He recently donated three of the relics to Singapore University of Technology and Design -- and was instantly blasted by Chinese social media users, who insisted the historic homes belonged in China. The kung fu star said he would exhibit the remaining antique structures in JC World.
Chan said the park will have no entrance fee, but some attractions will be ticketed.
“Sixty percent of the park will be free, 40 percent will be ticketed, with the money used to maintain the antique buildings,” he explained. “I am not short on money.”
Earlier this year Chan’s action spy film CZ12 grossed $138 million at the Chinese box office. He’s currently at work on The Expendables 3, in which he'll appear with fellow action veterans Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes, Jet Li and others.
While Chan’s project appears modest in scale compared to most, entertainment themed amusement parks are becoming big business in China. Earlier this month the world’s first Angry Birds theme park opened in Zhejiang province, in the country’s far east.
Oriental DreamWorks, the Chinese joint venture formed by DreamWorks Animation, China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment, is building a theme park in Shanghai called the Dream Center, which is scheduled to open in 2016 and will include theaters, shops, restaurants and hotels.
And Disney has long been developing and building its Disney Shanghai Resort. The massive amusement park in the Chinese business capital -- over 15 years in the making -- is slated to include two hotels, 495,000 square feet of retail space, a dining and entertainment venue, a lake and other facilities and amenities. The company broke ground on the project in 2011; it is expected to open at the end of 2015.