Shanghai Dream Centre reflects the city’s new ambitions of creating cultural highland

China Media Capital (CMC), a government-backed investment fund, plans to officially launch the Shanghai Dream Centre, an entertainment complex on the western bank of Huangpu River, in 2018, pledging to create a new landmark for the mainland’s commercial capital.

Chen Jingfeng, president of CMC, said the 460,000 square metre project in the city’s southwestern Xuhui district, would embody Shanghai’s ambitions of becoming a regional cultural centre, or a magnet for artists and tourists.

The investment fund has partnered with US animation company DreamWorks Animation, Lan Kwai Fong Group, developer of Hong Kong’s namesake entertainment hub, and China Development Bank to build what CMC perceives as a world-class cultural highland that could match Shanghai’s increasing profile.

“We have to make sure the project will be a

world-class one,” Chen said. “All the partners have the consensus that it’s our mission to create a landmark in Shanghai which has rich cultural value and can impress visitors.”

CMC, founded by China’s media mogul Li Ruigang, envisions making Shanghai Dream Centre a combination of New York’s Broadway and Times Square.

It includes office buildings, studios, art museums, theatres, cinemas, performing squares, retail outlets, restaurants and bars.