Australians are hoping a $500 million China-themed amusement park will come to rival the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge in terms of tourist dollars. Set to rise in the town of Warnervale an hour north of Syndey in Wyong Shire, the 15-hectare getaway is to be completed by 2016.

Local officials are so keen on the project, they don't even mind the somewhat unusual name: Chappypie China Time.

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The site is not unlike other themed parks such as Dutch Wonderland or Colonial Williamsburg in the United States. Like its counterparts, Chappypie China Time is expected to feature giant rollercoasters and other rides, but all with a heavy Chinese spin. The proposed 12 sections will include features named the "Meridian Gate", Thanksgiving Temple, Zheng He's Treasure Ship, Spring Festival Square, and Panda Paradise. Chinese calligraphy classes, traditional theatre, arts and craft shops, a massive replica of a Chinese junk, and music performances are also expected to be a part of the show.

Landscaped along traditional Chinese styles, mock-ups show a glittery Forbidden City-style complex complete with statues, a golden dragon coiling its away through the rides, and lots and lots of LEDs. Designers plan to start construction with the park's Buddhist temple, and then move out to other attractions. The entire site highlights Australia's links with China.

Wyong Shire, Warnervale's municipality, posted a demo video of the proposed attracted on its website to drum up public support.

Wyong Shire mayor Doug Eaton told Australian news outlets, "I've truly never seen anything like this before. It's going to blow people away when they watch the video and get a sense of how big and imaginative this concept really is and what it can do in terms of tourism for our shire."

Eaton estimates the park will easily be in the top five attracts in the state of New South Wales, on Australia's southeastern coast.

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