Home of martial arts to set up theme park

A Los Angeles-based entertainment group and a domestic investment firm on Tuesday agreed to jointly establish a martial arts scenic spot in Hubei province.

The venue, which will include a martial arts theme park and a $50 million live show, will be planned and designed by Ikonic Entertainment Group and Hubei Wudang Taichi Lake Investment Group at Wudang Mountain, a region known as the center of Chinese martial arts, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to Tony Christopher, founder of Ikonic Entertainment Group, the park will occupy an area of more than 330,000 square meters and cost at least $100 million to build.

Water shows will be held beside the park, while stuntmen and directors from Hollywood will also be invited to participate in performances to give the venue a more international flavor, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

He added that the details of the venue's design are still under discussion.

A staff member with the company surnamed Zhou confirmed to the Global Times on Tuesday that the venue would be built in Wudang Mountain.

"Immediately after the agreement was reached, both companies started construction work on the venue, which will be completed in two years," a staff member with the publicity department of Wudang Mountain Tourism and Economic Zone surnamed Feng, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The venue will help promote martial arts culture from China to the rest of the world," added Feng, "and the scenic spot will include both traditional martial arts and modern concepts after the cooperation with Hollywood, and therefore more people will be attracted."

In addition to the Wudang Mountain project, Ikonic and Taichi Lake will develop an oceanfront amusement park in Qingzhou, Shandong Province and an Ikonic-produced video game featuring martial arts legends.

The companies will also develop a traveling martial arts show, featuring Taoist and martial arts culture that is expected to tour college campuses in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported.