Chinese theme park wins awards at Intl theme park expo

The world's largest theme park expo opened in the U.S. state of Florida on Tuesday, and a Chinese park developer took center stage by winning two awards.

The 96th International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions(IAAPA) Expo, was held in the city of Orlando. The Expo brought over 1,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries around the world together to find out which one stood out from the rest. That honor ended up going to China's Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, who won the award for outstanding achievement in theme parks, and Guangzhou's Chimelong tourist resort, who won the Applause Award.

"The park in general is in such a large scale," Themed Entertainment Association's Founder Monty Lunde said. "It's amazing. The largest fish tank in the world. So many firsts there. It's incredible as a whole."

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, located in south China's Guangdong Province, opened to public back in March. It currently holds five world records, including having the world's largest underwater viewing dome and the world's largest fish tank.

With a history of less than 20 years, China's theme park industry has developed taken off, and with more parks are on the horizon, the industry doesn't look like it'll be slowing down.

"Disney is doing a major park there," Lunde said. "Universal is doing a major park. There are 50 other theme parks that are on the book to be built in the next five years. So it's a very high growth market."

"I don't think it was a disadvantage at all," Applause Award's board member Amanda Thompson said. "I think it's in advantage for them, because they can see the whole world. And they can see what exciting. They can see the old and they can see the new. They can take everything that they need to take to develop a wonderful amusement experience for the whole of China."

Founded in 1918, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions is the largest international trade association for major parks and fairs in the world. The organization represents more than 4,500 facilities, suppliers, and individual members from more than 97 countries. And that number is sure to grow now that China is getting into the amusement park business.