Earlier this month the Walt Disney Company was granted approval from the Chinese government to build a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, the first ever in mainland China. The project is estimated to cost $3.5 billion and will open in 5 or 6 years, occupying about 1,000 acres of the city’s Pudong district. Rober A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said “China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very important milestone for the Walt Disney Company in mainland China.” Let’s take a look at what the Shanghai park means for brand Disneyland.

The Walt Disney Co. announced on August 31st that they will acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc., bringing 5,000 characters including Spider-Man and Iron Man into the Disney family. This move comes as Disney is losing its brand esteem with boys. It also lacks an internationally recognizable icon, as Mickey Mouse used to be.

From the New York Times: “For decades, locals in this frigid outpost south of Siberia shaved and chipped and hacked away at big blocks of ice to create China’s most popular wintertime tourist attraction. Rising among the barren trees, the sculptures of the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival took the shapes of iconic Chinese monuments: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and sacred Buddhist Mountains.