With her legions of Chinese fans, it wasn’t going to be long before Hello Kitty got her very own theme park in the world’s most populous country. Hundreds of guests were invited to the official opening ceremony at Hello Kitty Park in Anji, Zhejiang Province, about 230km west of Shanghai, with visitor numbers projected to reach as high as one million per year.

The US$215m (£137m, €175m) park was planned to feature several themed rides, while the natural elements of fire, water, wood, metal and earth create sub-themes would help Hello Kitty Park fit in with the surrounding ecology. According to Hettema Group, who designed the project, "Hello Kitty Park is both a festive playland and a natural park, where children learn about the environment through imaginative, hands-on activity."

The designers could not be sure how closely the work had been carried out according to their concept, however. "The Hettema Group completed concept and schematic design of the park more than two years ago, and local architects will have been contracted to complete the construction documents, which may account for any differences between the initial designs and the finished product," a spokesperson at Hettema Group said.

The famous feline is recognised across the world, and the attractions industry is quickly realising the value in the Sanrio-owned IP. Sanrio currently owns and operates two Hello Kitty parks in Japan, Puroland and Harmonyland. Those parks also feature Hello Kitty’s friends, such as Cinnamon and My Melody. Sanrio is opening Hello Kitty Park as a joint venture with China’s Zhejiang New Insight Leisure Tourism Development Co. The park opens to the public on 1 January.

Existing parks have been cashing in too. Malaysia is already home to Hello Kitty Town, located at Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park. Indonesia’s Ancol Dreamland theme park in Jakarta has revealed plans to launch a new attraction based on the popular character by the end of the year. And in the UK, family theme park Drusilla’s will open a Hello Kitty Secret Garden in spring 2015.