SU Zhigang
| SU Zhigang | |
|---|---|
| File:SU Zhigang.jpgSU Zhigang.jpg | |
| Born | June 1958 Dashi, Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Chinese |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Founder and chairman of Chimelong Group |
| Title | Chairman of Chimelong Group
Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce Chairman of Guangdong Federation of Industry & Commerce |
| 🏛️ Political party | Communist Party of China |
This is a Chinese name; the family name is SU.
Su Zhigang was born in 1958 in Panyu District, Guangzhou City. Growing up in a peasant's family, he experienced a poverty-stricken life in his early years. At the age of fourteen, he had to drop out of middle school to help with farm work. In the late 1970s, when China opened up to the outside world, Su moved to the city as a migrant peasant worker. While working different jobs, he met a pork vendor in the market and started his own stall selling pork. Rather than sticking to local business like most vendors, Su intended to expand the market. He rode around the city in search of new business and soon became the pork vendor of large hotels and restaurants. During his deliveries, he gradually learned from chefs and managers about restaurant management skills and their business models. Through years of hard work, he acquired adequate money as well as experience for his own business start-up.
In 1989, Su opened Xiangjiang Restaurant and shortly put it on the map. With the mounting experience and profits in the catering business, Su started to run his first hotel, Xiangjiang Hotel in 1994 in Panyu, Guangzhou. It was designed as a three-star hotel and boasted over 100 guest rooms and more than 40 private dining rooms, which became one of the largest restaurants in Guangzhou back then.
As the restaurant business progressed, Su started to seek greater opportunities. In the 1990s, the majority of zoos in China were state-owned and were low-profit in general. Under these circumstances, Su decided to build his own Safari Park. It was the experience of raising livestock and poultry in his early adolescence that generated in him a deep affection for animals. Even though his family strongly opposed the idea and his friends frowned upon it as well, Su made up his mind and immersed himself fully in the safari park business. At that time, it was a challenge to constitute wildlife resources. Even for the best zoos back then in China, animals like giraffes were few. In order to make a difference, Su consulted animal experts and traveled to learn from international counterparts. These trips abroad equipped him with a general idea of how to run a safari park with a large animal population, a model considered both sensational and beneficial to animal conservation. Afterwards, he managed to introduce 30 giraffes from South Africa through a series of stringent quarantine and inspection processes. It was such a big move that astonished those in the field. Furthermore, Su received strong backing from the government as he built the zoo for the purpose of animal shows, animal breeding, scientific education and tourism rather than animal trade. In 1997, Chimelong Safari Park was opened to the public, which marked Su's first step entering into the theme park industry. He is so enthusiastic and passionate about animal conservation and breeding programs that he takes it as his life-time career. Since its opening, the park has achieved recognized success in animal breeding, where white tigers increased from 60 to more than 200, and the rare koala twins[1] and the only giant panda triplets[2] in the world were born.
After securing his position in the field of zoos, Su continued his new development plan. As Su traveled around the world, he was inspired by the Night Zoo in Singapore where the climate is similar to Guangzhou. He cooperated with an excellent design company and hired foreign experts in zoology. After eight months, the Night Zoo of Chimelong was opened, making it renowned nationwide.
As park arrivals grew, Su realized that a one-day wildlife park tour could not meet the demand of the holiday market, so he masterminded the building of the first animal-themed hotel in the resort. After visiting Sun City of South Africa, Australia and Las Vegas with his designers, he drew on the successful experience and brought up new ideas. In 2000, Chimelong Hotel was opened to the public. The animal-themed hotel enables customers to see white tigers and flamingos while enjoying their meals. When stepping out onto the balcony, guests can overlook the white tigers and all kinds of birds. In 2016 and 2017, Chimelong Hotel was awarded as the World's Leading Themed Hotel by World Travel Award[3].
When railway construction and road alignment works started to affect the animals that lived in the Night Zoo, Su worked to implement a redevelopment program. Therefore, the park was reconstructed into an amusement park, Chimelong Paradise. Opened on April 12, 2006, Chimelong Paradise offers a host of fun rides, stunt theater, parades, eco-leisure, specialty restaurants, theme stores and integrated services.
Chimelong Water Park was opened in 2007, which only took one year from design to opening. Su combined a variety of entertainment elements with advanced technologies of water rides, stunt shows, media, lighting and special effects all together to provide an attractive tourist destination for Chinese customers in hot summer. It has been awarded as the annual most attended Water Park worldwide in TEA Index since 2013[4]. Besides, it topped the list of "20 Best Water Parks in the World" every year since 2013 by Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), and was also appraised by International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) as the "Must-See Water Park in the World" for several consecutive years[5]. Chimelong Water Park gave rise to a new round of "water park fever" in China and even Asia, setting a new benchmark in the Chinese industry.
With the economic radiation of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China Pilot Free Trade Zone-Hengqin New Area of Zhuhai features an unrivalled geographic privilege. Together with his management team and engineers, Su blazed a new trail and built an extraordinary marine theme park and the largest ocean theme hotel in China. In 2014, Chimelong Marine Tourist Resort in Zhuhai was opened. Phase one of the resort includes a marine theme park, four theme hotels and 2 circus theaters. Phase two will include a grand marine science center and two themed parks at the Hengqin Hill.
The marine theme park Ocean Kingdom received over 9.7 million visitors in 2017 and the whole resort received over 11 million arrivals in 2017[6].
In Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the Journey of Lights Parade (Live Show) marks the finale to a day. According to Themed Entertainment Association, "The Journey of Lights Parade at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom signals a giant leap forward of technical and creative possibilities in the creation of mobile nighttime spectaculars. This is combined with the highest level of visual imagination and design, executed with theatrical flair and showmanship at virtually every level." The show was awarded Thea Award for Outstanding Achievements in 2018[7], which is the third time that Chimelong won the honor. The previous two awards are for its Ocean Kingdom in 2014[8] and for its 5D Castle Theater in 2017[9] respectively.
Apart from theme parks, Su Zhigang has also applied himself to the circus industry. In contrast to the traditional circus, Su seeks a unique perspective of entertainment. He selected and introduced outstanding circus actors from all over the world and combined them with Chinese culture to create distinctive circus shows for the audience. Chimelong Circus in Guangzhou started with a medley of world circus shows in 2000. Tens of millions had been invested to create elaborate stage works, and hundreds of millions invested to construct the world's biggest circus arena that can accommodate nearly 8,000 spectators. It boasts more than 300 elite circus performers from over 20 countries, and almost 40 species – totaling more than 500 exotic animals also perform alongside them on stage.
Chimelong Circus City in Zhuhai has held the China International Circus Festival every year since 2013, attracting thousands of customers from home and abroad. In the circus that accommodates 6000 spectators, hundreds of artists from over 40 countries give spectacular circus shows to the audiences. In 2016, Su Zhigang was named "Circus Ambassador of the Year" by the World Circus Federation[10]. He was the only entrepreneur from the tourism industry to receive this honor in recognition of his long-time contributions to the art of circus.
The success of the Chimelong Group gave credit to over 20,000 employees from all around the world. Up until now, Chimelong has worked closely with international vendors and consultants from over 50 different countries and regions. With the joint effort, Chimelong has become one of the most well-known and leading tourism groups in the world.
Su Zhigang has been devoting himself to the tourism industry in China. He is the Vice-Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the member of the national committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. And he used to be the representative of the National People's Congress. Aiming to promote China's tourism industry, Su has proposed many suggestions during official meetings and has been receiving positive support and recognition by the government and also the tourism industry. Moreover, under Su's guidance, Chimelong's representatives have actively participated as the affiliated member of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the active member of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the board of directors of Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).
Philanthropy
Apart from his dedication to China's tourism industry, he also feels obliged to support animal ex-situ conservation and give back to society. In 2008, Chimelong donated CNY 8 million (about USD 1.23 million) to China Giant Panda Research Center for reconstruction purposes after the Wenchuan Earthquake. In 2016, Chimelong announced cooperation with United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the establishment of the UNWTO Chimelong Initiative and invested $1 million in the project[11], aiming for sustainable development of the industry along with the conservation of wild flora and fauna, as well as devising and implementing policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products worldwide. Moreover, Chimelong has donated millions of CNY to Guangdong Foundation for Poverty Alleviation for many years[12]. In 2017, Chimelong established the Flora and Fauna Conservation Foundation with the mission of in-situ and ex-situ conservation of wildlife, eco-environment protection and science education. From March 1st, 2017, all the theme parks of Chimelong will donate 1 CNY to the Foundation for each ticket sold as subsequent funding with a provisional duration of 3 years[13]
See also
References
- ↑ "Survival chances improve for rare koala twins". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Giant panda triplets meet visitors as COVID-19 restrictions ease". news.cgtn.com. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ↑ "World Travel Awards 2016 Asia Winners". World Travel Awards. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2013 Theme Index & Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). 2014. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Awards & Recognition" (PDF). Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2017 Theme Index and Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). 2018. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Thea Awards 2018". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)[permanent dead link] - ↑ "Thea Awards Recipients". http://teaconnect.org. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2021-03-17. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ "Thea Awards Recipients". http://teaconnect.org. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2021-03-17. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ "Chimelong chair named circus ambassador". 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Guangdong firm joins UN in sustainable development project - China - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ↑ "List of Donations". Guangdong Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Guangdong Chimelong Flora and Fauna Conservation Foundation". www.chimelongfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
External links
Official Website: www.chimelong.com
Wechat Official Account: happy_chimelong
Wu Xiaobo Interview: http://www.traveldaily.cn/article/115758
Qin Shuo Interview: http://news.newseed.cn/p/1329217
New Park Culture: Chimelong Rises in the East:: http://newparkculture.com/en/news/chimelong-rises-east
BBC: China’s most terrifying theme park
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120621-chinas-most-terrifying-theme-park
Blooloop: Chimelong Ocean Kingdom – a truly awe-inspiring visit
https://blooloop.com/chimelong-ocean-kingdom-adam-sandy/
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