Why choose Beijing?

Any project that takes two decades to come to fruition is not easy, and the Beijing venue is no exception.

"Comcast NBCUniversal visited other cities in China while considering the location for its theme park in China. After a detailed inspection, it saw the uniqueness of Beijing in the fields of marketing, talent and culture," Song said.

"The capital is a place all Chinese want to visit at least once in their lives," he added.

Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co was established in 2013, and the two sides reached agreement on the resort project that year.

In September 2014, the project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, marking a milestone for the entire process.

Negotiations between the two sides lasted three years and seven months, and were difficult, even though both parties were strongly committed to cooperation. By the end of 2017, the Beijing International Resort Co joint venture was formed and construction of the project was accelerated.

Andrew Eitingon, deputy general manager of Beijing International Resort Co, said China is one of the most rapidly growing markets globally.

"We were excited by Beijing for many reasons. We found a supportive government, a rapidly growing area, a thriving city, millions of consumers we felt would be excited by our destination, great potential team members, a strong transportation network and a strong network of businesses and supplier partners," Eitingon said.

"Universal Beijing Resort enjoyed strong support from both the central and Beijing municipal governments throughout the entire project. We are thankful for the support we received from them as we selected our site, and the significant infrastructure investment the (Beijing) government has made to support our destination－including road connections, subway stations and rail links."

The park can be reached via the Batong Line and Line 7 on the Beijing Subway, as well as by bus and boat－a 2.8-kilometer-long waterway links the resort area to the capital's sub-center cultural and tourist zone.

Eitingon said that after COVID-19 emerged at the start of last year, the Chinese and US teams worked together on an active response.

"We quickly formulated scientific and effective prevention and control plans, implemented all measures in a coordinated way and worked hard to minimize the impact on the project schedule. The project quickly resumed construction in an orderly way," he said.

"We relied upon government support to get construction restarted, to get workers back on the site and stay on schedule. It's testament to the great support we've had that we are still on the schedule we set originally and still in a very good position."