The size of a Shanghai park has been variously estimated at 1,000 acres (similar to the original Disneyland in Anaheim) to more than double that. The cost would probably be several billion dollars.
In building the 320-acre Hong Kong Disneyland that opened in 2005, the government put up $2.9 billion for the park and related infrastructure development, while Disney invested $314 million.
Yang, of Shanghai's economic commission, says city officials considered Chongming Island, just north of Shanghai, as a potential site for a theme park. But the Pudong area had a major advantage: easier access.
The site most likely to be chosen for the new Disneyland would be just minutes away by car from Pudong International Airport and along the path of the city's 268-mile-per-hour maglev train. Plans would allow travelers passing through Shanghai to visit the park on a special 48-hour visa.
Kang Fuxiang, head of Qigan village, said the blueprints he saw a few years ago showed the project taking up about half of his village lands. The park would also occupy parts of several other rural communities in the Chuansha area, where foreigners come to ride horses.
On a recent afternoon, it wasn't hard to spot newly renovated or enlarged homes here. Some residents insisted it wasn't aimed at collecting higher relocation payments, although neighbors said otherwise.
Even residents who don't expect to be moved are still hoping that Disney will come soon.
"Sure, we want them; our house will increase in value," said Shuai Zhonghua, 23, who with his wife owns a three-bedroom apartment down the street from their screen-window business.
Closer to the expected Disneyland site, the mere mention of Disney gets some people fired up.
"Of course we're excited," said Hua Kunde, standing outside his little ramshackle market that faces a patch of browning farmlands. The 62-year-old native of Qigan village, population 2,500, said his house was right behind his store.
"The government will have some policy to move us," he said, flashing a smile. He pointed to one of his neighbors, who Hua claimed had moved her adult daughter's family registration to Qigan to collect a bigger relocation windfall. The woman repeatedly denied that she did anything wrong.
Other villagers have grown weary of such talk. Kang, Qigan's 52-year-old chief, says his village lands have been reserved by the government for the Disneyland project for a decade.
"We sincerely hope and welcome Disney to come to our village," Kang said. "If Disney won't come, just let us know," he added, his voice tinged with irritation. "But just don't keep us suspended for so long again."
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Times staff writer Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and researcher Cao Jun in The Times' Shanghai bureau contributed to this report.
don.lee@latimes.com
