For 15 minutes, 11-year-old Lily Li stared through a glass panel at hammerhead sharks and bluefin tuna in Hong Kong´s newest attraction, Aqua City. "It´s like a dream," said Li, from China´s Guangdong province, who crowded with her mother and about 50 others at the window, the width of a basketball court, on the packed Jan. 27 opening day. The egg-shaped building, with nightly water shows, is part of a HK$5.5 billion ($707 million) redevelopment by government- owned Ocean Park to profit from a jump in mainland Chinese visitors. The revamp adds pressure on Walt Disney Co.´s Hong Kong Disneyland, which has trailed Ocean Park since its 2005 opening, has yet to make a profit, and is spending HK$3.6 billion on its own expansion, including "Toy Story Land." "Home-grown theme parks like Ocean Park have proven that they can compete with a big global corporation like Disney," said Jonathan Galaviz, managing director of Galaviz & Co., a tourism industry economist. "As consumer disposal income increases in Asia, the first place that Asian consumers will spend that money on is travel, tourism, and fun experiences."
