SHANGHAI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Celebrating its first anniversary on Sunday, LEGOLAND Shanghai, China's first LEGOLAND Resort, announced that it has become the fastest LEGOLAND Resort worldwide to reach more than 2 million visitors.

File photo: IC

It also posted the highest first-year visitor growth of all LEGOLAND Resorts globally. Families with children remain LEGOLAND Shanghai's core audience, accounting for over 80 percent of visitors.

Beyond the Yangtze River Delta, the resort is also drawing visitors from regions including Beijing, south China's Guangdong Province and Shandong Province in east China.

"LEGOLAND Shanghai delivered a very strong first year, ranking top in both visitor numbers and guests satisfaction among LEGOLAND Resorts globally," said John Jakobsen, chief strategic portfolio development officer of Merlin Entertainments.

"This not only confirms the huge potential of China's family market, but also gives us strong confidence in the vitality of China's cultural tourism market. China represents a key pillar of our Merlin Entertainments growth strategy," said Jakobsen, adding that going forward, they will deliver even richer play experiences to Chinese families.

Spanning 318,000 square meters, LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort, located in Shanghai's Jinshan District, is the 11th LEGOLAND Resort globally and was the largest LEGOLAND park at the time of its opening.

"We look forward to bringing LEGO's creativity and joy to life right here, growing together with Jinshan, bringing every family closer through play," said Jeanette Chen, general manager of LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort.