| Five years after reaching a partnership with a Chinese real estate developer for a permanent show in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Cirque du Soleil announced on Wednesday that the show will premier in May in what it calls "the most expensive theater ever built". The theater, in a renovated factory on the outskirt of the city, was built with an investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million) by Hangzhou Xintiandi Group, a privately owned developer of tourism and cultural projects across China. This project is also the biggest investment so far by the company, which was founded in 2008 and has total assets of 30 billion yuan. It will also be the Canadian entertainment company's only resident show in Asia. "Cirque du Soleil is a global leader in entertainment. And as a global leader in entertainment, we want this show to be the most popular in the world," Daniel Lamarre, CEO of the Quebec-based company, said at a news conference in Hangzhou. Liu Wendong, chairman of Hangzhou Xintiandi Group, wants the show to be an attraction that is equally appealing as the city's West Lake, a UNESCO listed intangible cultural heritage site, for both tourists and local residents. He predicted that the show, once it is staged regularly, would attract 100,000 visitors annually to the 1.8-million-square-meter commercial project developed by the company, where the theater is located. The project, Xintiandi Central Activity Zone, also has Asia's largest bar and largest IMAX cinema. The ticket price of the 70-minute show has yet to be decided. But Liu said it would be definitely higher than that of the tour shows performed by Cirque du Soleil in China in recent years, which ranged from 280 to 1,980 yuan, according to previous online booking records. The show will be performed twice to three times daily six days a week, except Mondays. | 
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