When the “SAGA City of Light” float featuring classic Art Deco styles ran into Xuhui District on Thursday, the immersive theater with the largest indoor performance area operated by Puy du Fou officially opened to the public after a trial operation since the end of May.
The “SAGA City of Light” immersive theater is the first Asian project meticulously crafted by Puy du Fou, a major theme park operator in France. This year marks 60 years of Sino-French diplomatic relations, and the project celebrates cultural exchanges between the two countries.
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With an investment of more than 650 million yuan (US$92 million), the project takes up 46,000 square meters in the west pavilion of the Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center.
It features a giant theater, themed catering, a cafe, and cultural and entertainment amenities.
The theater’s indoor performance area has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest for an immersive theater at 12,111 square meters.
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One of the actresses in the show.
The project uses leading technology to create scenes and stories through film aesthetics and world-class stagecraft. It comprises approximately 100 actors and actresses and about 50 large-scale film scenes with 26,000 vintage-style props and over 300 pieces of hand-made costumes.
The project includes dozens of large scenarios such as an 88-meter-long cabin and an 82-meter-long train carriage and has also added multiple grand Chinese-style landscapes.
The project has gathered top cultural and artistic creators from France and China, and historians and experts in haipai (Shanghai-style) culture have been specially invited to the team.
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The “SAGA City of Light” float.
The audience will act as the principal protagonists on an exploration journey.
“This project is very significant for Puy du Fou because this is our first project outside Europe,” said Geoffroy Ladet, CEO of Puy Du Fou Asia.
“It’s very meaningful for us that this first project outside Europe is in Shanghai,” he said.
“We are very proud of this and this is a significant moment for the France and China relationship because we believe such a project mixing our both culture and both teams can be a very good link between both culture.
“For this Shanghai project, we have taken the knowhow, the base of what we have in France, but we want to do something a little bit different, which is one single show but very big in size,” he said. “It’s the same component but put in a different concept which is more fit for the Chinese market.”
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If you go:
Venue: Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center
Address: 66 Caobao Road, Xuhui District