Jackie Chan wants to build a theme park in Beijing that bears his name. That could be viewed as a little egotistical, but Chan's vision does seem to have some heart to it: in a report from the The Malaysian Times, the seminal martial arts actor says that cultural preservation is a major reason he wants to create JC World. In the 1990s, Chan purchased 10 historic sandalwood buildings that are between 200 and 400 years old. Since then, the Chinese action star has dumped money into restoring and maintaining the buildings, but he's never been able to find a permanent home for most of them.
Four of the 10 buildings Chan bought have been donated to Singapore University. The remaining six were going to go to the University as well, but a public outcry to keep the "I want to exhibit all my stuff."
remaining structures in China has led the actor to the idea of putting them in a theme park. "You don't know the whole process," Chan told The Malaysian Times, expressing a bit of frustration. "If I give you these antique houses right now to manage, let's see how you do it."
Further details on JC World are slim. The actor said the Beijing park will be about a three-quarters of a mile in size, and be divided into five sections, each offering a different theme. About 60 percent of the park will be free, while the rest will require a ticket of some sort, he said. At this point, no target date for the opening of the park — or even groundbreaking — has been set.
60 percent of the park will be free
Aside from antique buildings, the action star said he plans to display furniture, jewelry, and other items he's amassed while traveling throughout his four-decade career. "I was very poor when I was a child, so when I had money later on, I bought all sorts of things and went around the world collecting them," Chan said. "I want to exhibit all my stuff. They may not all be worth a lot of money, but they may have a story behind them."