Postcard: Shenzhen

By Kathleen Kingsbury

Lederhosen, fondue and dried-seaweed snacks? Guten Tag from Shenzhen! Nestled in rolling hills outside this southern boomtown is China's very own version of Interlaken. No detail of the famed Swiss alpine resort appears to have been ignored in this local facsimile, from ski chalets, mineral baths and roasting sausages to the fraeulein in braids who greets you on arrival. Perhaps the only thing missing from this Chinese alpine idyll is, well, snow.

The resort, known as OCT East, is just the latest of dozens of foreign-themed parks springing up all over China. Shanghai has its Weimar Village, Beijing has Greek villas, and Hong Kong has its very own Disneyland--all built in hopes of cashing in on the deepening pockets of a growing middle class eager to absorb Western culture. Tourism revenue now accounts for 6% of China's GDP (or more than $600 billion), and the industry is expected to grow 10% annually for the next five years. The World Tourism Organization predicts China will be the globe's largest tourism market by 2020.

Shenzhen's Interlaken offers Chinese tourists a little taste of Europe closer to home. Its developer, Shenzhen OCT Sanzhou Investment, has sunk nearly $450 million into the park's 2,200 acres (890 hectares). Located on a crystal-clear man-made lake, the centerpiece is a 300-room, five-star hotel with a Gothic cathedral lobby and an Austrian chef. The drive for authenticity is relentless: last summer an alpine songfest even brought yodelers to the resort. You can tour the property aboard an antique railroad that circles it, or view it from the highest summit--some 50 ft. (15 m) above--before plunging down the slope on the gondola cum roller coaster. Says hotel event manager Selina Liu: "All of our guests say they forget they're not in Europe."

That may be an exaggeration. After all, the vast majority of OCT East's visitors and its 3,000-person staff are ethnically Chinese--there just aren't that many Europeans on hand--and Shenzhen's average annual temperature is 75-oF (24-oC). A recent passenger on the scenic railroad snacked on boiled chicken feet, a local delicacy unlikely to be found in the Alps. Down a short path from the Swiss village is a working Chinese tea plantation, and each afternoon the development's 1,300-seat theater sells out its Zen Tea Show. Performed against the world's largest LCD screen, this hour-long spectacle combines ballet, kung fu and dancing teapots while reminding the audience of China's Buddhist roots. A mountaintop temple is being built nearby to ensure the resort's feng shui, and reminders of modern China are everywhere within the alpine resort itself. One of those quaint Swiss chalets is, in fact, a KFC outlet, while that "mist" rising from the hills is actually smog.

The anticipated bonanza has yet to materialize for OCT East's investors, however. Since it opened in the summer, the resort has averaged about 2,000 visitors per day--about 4,000 fewer than the developers had hoped to attract during peak periods. But even more established theme parks have also struggled to attract visitors. In its first year, Hong Kong's Disneyland, which opened in September 2005, had about 15,000 visitors per day, about 40% of its capacity. And guests have complained about long lines and high prices at the amusement park. "It wasn't what I hoped for," says Alex Xu, who recently visited the park from Beijing. "I'd rather save my money and go to the real Disney World someday."

In a country where per capita annual income remains below $2,000, OCT East's $20 entrance fee is an extravagance for many. Still, a local visitor, Zhang Zihua, says she'll return. "I want to bring my daughter," Zhang says. "I want her to work hard to travel to Europe when she's older." To lure the 10-year-old, Zhang is taking home an irresistible souvenir: a box of imported Swiss chocolates.