A Refreshing European-Style Theme Park to Launch in Hangzhou

(Source: Hangzhou)

On November 14th, officials from the head office of Karls arrived in Yuhang to sign a cooperation agreement with the Yuhang Tourism Bureau and Zhejiang’s Karls Tourism Development Ltd. The agreement is to open a European theme park in Yuhang, Hangzhou which will be the first global flagship park of its kind in China.

Karls Freizeitparks originates from Germany and is one of the most successful theme parks for children and families in Europe. Originally starting as a strawberry farm in 1921, Karls gradually developed into a theme park for the farming and countryside market. Now Karls has seven parks in Europe.

Karls boasts a variety of facilities and is the proud owner of the hundred-year-old secret jam recipe, handmade soap, the best beers, coffee, chocolates and all kinds of cuisine. What’s more, Karls, in typical German style, has invented a series of recreational projects and facilities. Differing from the ordinary amusement parks, Karls focuses on developing innovative and original projects which aim to provide the most refreshing experiences to visitors.

Why would Karls choose Hangzhou as the location for its first overseas project? According to the officials from the head office of Karls, Karls is in favor of Hangzhou’s natural and economic environment; which are two fundamental requirements for their brand.

The construction project of Yuhang Karls Park will start at the beginning of 2017 and is expected to open in October 2018. The park is designed to be divided into four sections, namely Karls Farm, Karls Paradise, Karls Shopping Center and Karls Water Park. The project plans to cover 106,666 sq m with a floor area of about 20,000 sq m.

The highlights of the park will include an ecologic plantation, a pasture, an outdoor amusement park, an indoor recreation & shopping center, a handicraft workshop, a gourmet factory and the Karls Shopping Village. In the second phase of the project, the education center, VR experience center and Karls family hotel will also be established to cater to the increasing demands of its guests.Compared with existing amusement parks such as Hello Kitty Amusement Park, Disney Land, Karls' focus is more on the tourism experience.

For a bite-size view of what Karls is like let’s have a look at the Karls Erlebnis-Dorf near Rostock which is an amusement park featuring slides, horse riding, roller coasters, a pirate ship and bumper cars.

Karls Erlebnis-Dorf near Rockstock is also a shopping center that is predominantly strawberry related. All the food here is made exclusively by Karls and the strawberries are made into a variety of items: the beverages include wine, spirits, fruit beers and soft beverages and there are marshmallows, bubble gums, lollipops, hard and soft candies.

There is even strawberry hand cream but it is the strawberry jam that is the star of them all. The environmental conditions in Rostock suit this fruit very well and allow for a high quality strawberry product. Made from the secret recipe, Karls’ jam has a unique and everlasting taste.

To complement the numerous strawberry products there are also a number of other gourmet treats on offer like German cheese, sausage and coffee. Sausages are the national dish of Germany and here in Karls visitors can even find many cook books introducing the types and different recipes of many German sausages.

The projects in the park are notably designed for children. Different areas of the park are designed in different themes and all for the purpose of stimulating little minds. Sounds like a great place to get your teeth stuck into, here’s to 2017!