A Long Island businesswoman wants to build a massive “Chinese Disneyland” in the Catskills — which would include an amusement park, huge mansions and a “Forbidden City” laid out according to the principles of Feng Shui.
The China City of America scheme could bring thousands of wealthy Chinese immigrants to the tiny Sullivan County town of Thompson, under a federal program that lets foreigners get visas by investing $500,000 in the US.
The mastermind behind the plan, Sherry Li, says the development would eventually draw $6 billion in foreign investment.
“We can kind of view it as a Chinese concept of Disney — so it’s going to have lot of attractions for families,” she said.
The designs for China City include a college, 1,000 residences, a Chinese-themed retail center and possibly a casino.
The place would feel like a trip to China just 90 miles outside New York city, as one area would mark parts of the Chinese Zodiac while another would have 16 buildings representing the major Chinese dynasties.
“Each dynasty will have its building and will have rides go with it,” Li said at a town council meeting in May where she pitched the original plan.
China City’s website features golden dragons, and projects an initial investment of $325 million — with $10 million going to a “Temple of Heaven,” $24 million on a hotel and entertainment complex, and $20 million to construct a “Forbidden City.”
It also projects a $65 million infusion from the U.S. government – without naming what agency would make the contribution.
“It’s multiple phases. No project is going to happen in one day. It’s going to be step-by-step,” Li told the Post, saying the amusement park component would get built in a later phase.
The plan is now under consideration by the leaders of Thompson, population 15,000.
It’s already getting a lot of opposition.
“It actually seems surreal but unfortunately it is real,” said Paula Medley, an activist who heads a local environmental group.
“This is kind of a combination of pie-in-the-sky and ethnic solidarity and showmanship and a federal program that sort of facilitates this sort of thing. It’s really an odd mix,” said David North, who authored a new report picking apart China City’s proposal for the D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.
Others questioned its link to the federal visa program, known as EB-5.
“It sounds like an EB-5 scam,” said Laura Corruzi, a New York City attorney who vacations in the area. “The financials don’t really support the $6 billion project.”
The Thompson town council has had at least five meetings on the project, with the latest Tuesday night.
Li wouldn’t reveal the number of investors she has lined up, but she said most were Chinese nationals.
“Whoever is interested [will] invest with us. At this point we don’t have [Chinese] government investors at all,” she said, describing her own background only as being in the “financial industry.”
“It’s in the thousands of apartments, houses — it’s huge,” said Thompson town supervisor Tony Cellini. He said the total population of Chinese coming in eventually could equal the town’s if the developers “fulfill” all their wishes.
“We’re not certain we have the infrastructure to handle all that at this point,” he added.
“I believe China City is very serious but they’ve got a long road ahead of them to get all their approvals.”