中国初のユニバ、試験営業　早朝から行列

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国首都北京で１日、同国初となる米系テーマパーク「ユニバーサル・スタジオ」の試験営業が行われた。来園者らは早朝から長蛇の列をつくった。（写真は中国・北京のユニバーサル・スタジオの試験営業に並ぶ人々）
　同園は「ハリー・ポッター」や「ジュラシック・ワールド」などの人気映画シリーズをベースにした乗り物が売りで、ホテル２軒とショッピング街を含むリゾートの一部となっている。
　世界で五つ目の「ユニバーサル・スタジオ」となる同園の試験営業では、企業向けの特別招待状を持つ人のみに入場が許された。
　園内では顔認証技術を用いて、ロッカーの開閉や食事の支払いができる他、紙のチケットなしで乗り物の優先レーンに並ぶこともできる。同園のための地下鉄駅も新設された。
　正式開業は２０日。国営メディアの報道によると、開業日発表後の８月３０日には、旅行予約サイト「携程旅行」で同園の検索件数が８００％増加したという。
　９月１日の来場者には、新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ－１９）の症状がないことを自己申告し、入場時に体温測定カメラの前に立つことが求められた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/09/02-12:32）

Visitors got a sneak peek at Universal Studios' first theme park in China on Wednesday as the Beijing attraction had a soft opening, drawing queues from dawn.
The park hosts rides inspired by blockbuster film franchises including Harry Potter and Jurassic World and is part of a larger Universal-themed resort that includes two hotels and a shopping street.
Liu Muhan, a 26-year-old university lecturer who dressed up in a witch costume for the occasion, said she was looking forward to the Harry Potter-themed area and felt lucky to get in.
I've been a hardcore Harry Potter fan for more than 20 years, Liu told AFP. I've wanted to come here for a long time.
Wednesday's trial run was open only to visitors holding special corporate invitations.
The park promises water shows and close encounters with an animatronic dinosaur, while facial recognition cameras allow visitors to open storage lockers, pay for meals and join express queues for rides without physical tickets.
The Beijing attraction, the US media conglomerate's fifth park globally, was first announced in 2014 after receiving approval from Chinese authorities.
The city has since opened a dedicated subway station for the park.
Searches for the theme park on the popular Ctrip travel booking site soared more than 800 percent on Monday after the opening date was announced, state media reported.
The park is expected to see a surge of visitors during the upcoming week-long National Day holidays in October, as pent-up tourism demand from a summer marred by Covid-19 lockdowns spills into autumn.
Visitors on Wednesday were required to declare they were not experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms and had to go through temperature cameras to enter.