Shanghai Disney Resort Groundbreaking April 8, 2011
Shanghai Disney Resort Marks Historic Tenth Anniversary of the Resort’s Milestone Groundbreaking on April 8
Shanghai, April 8, 2021 – As Shanghai Disney Resort launches its 5th Birthday Celebration today, April 8 also marks another significant milestone for the resort. Ten years ago, on April 8, 2011, The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group celebrated the historic groundbreaking of Shanghai Disney Resort. As one of the largest Sino-foreign joint venture projects in the service sector in China’s history, and the most ambitious overseas project for The Walt Disney Company, Shanghai Disney Resort’s groundbreaking marked the start of construction on the first Disney resort in mainland China.
With over five years of joint efforts from both shareholders and the local government, as well as from the hundreds of thousands of partners, contractors, vendors, construction workers, community participants, Cast Members, and many more, Shanghai Disney Resort celebrated its Grand Opening in June 2016, and has gone on to become one of the world’s most visited tourism destinations.
![Shanghai Disney Resort Groundbreaking April 8, 2011 1 The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group, its joint venture partner, broke ground on Shanghai Disney Resort on April 8, 2011.](https://blog.disneygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/groundbreaking.jpg)
![Shanghai Disney Resort Groundbreaking April 8, 2011 2 Extensive site formation work was completed on the Shanghai Disney Resort site and the project moved into the construction phase on April 26, 2012.](https://blog.disneygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/siteformation.jpg)
![Shanghai Disney Resort Groundbreaking April 8, 2011 3 A flag standing on the construction site, indicating where the world’s tallest and largest Disney Castle – Enchanted Storybook Castle – would eventually stand. The](https://blog.disneygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shanghai_castle.jpg)
The
![Shanghai Disney Resort Groundbreaking April 8, 2011 4 The castle topped out on May 19, 2015, with the installation of a remarkable golden finial atop the tallest of the castle’s eight towers. The finial features a golden peony - the flower of China - atop a cascade of Disney stars shooting out towards the heavens from the central spire, evoking the optimism that, with belief and a little magic, dreams really can come true.](https://blog.disneygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/castle_topping_01.jpg)