Australia's iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge are set to be joined by a new landmark after a council approved a £330 million, 15-hectare Chinese-themed park including a full-sized replica of the gates to Beijing's Forbidden City.

　　The sprawling park, to be built in Wyong Shire, about 50 miles north of Sydney, will also feature a nine-story temple housing a giant Buddha and a mini-city modelled on Chinese water towns.

　　The local mayor, Doug Eaton, said the park, to be finished by 2020, is set to become one of the country's main tourist attractions.

　　"Outside the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this has the potential to be among the biggest tourist attractions in the state," he said.

　　"What this proposal will do is turn the Wyong shire into a tourist mecca and bring millions of dollars worth of tourism into the area, which will have a flow-on effect to the entire region's economy."

　　The council has agreed to sell the land to the Australian Chinese Theme Park Pty Ltd, the private company behind the project. Construction will begin with the building of the Forbidden City gates in 2015.

　　The park will also include a section in the architectural style of the Tang and Song dynasties and another in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

　　It will feature a 1000-seat theatre, restaurants and function halls, a royal villa, and a children's section devoted to pandas (which will not have any pandas).

　　"It is going to be a unique $500 million tourist attraction, employing more than a thousand people and bringing economic prosperity to Wyong Shire," said Bruce Zhong, chairman of the ACTP.

　　The project is designed to help tap into the lucrative Chinese tourist market. More than 400,000 Chinese tourists visit the state of New South Wales each year.

　　继悉尼歌剧院和海港大桥之后，澳大利亚即将增添一个新的标志性建筑。当地委员会审批通过了一个耗资3.3亿英镑、占地15公顷的中国主题公园，其中包括一个仿紫禁城门建造的1比1大小的大门。

　　这座占地面积庞大的公园将在悉尼以北50英里处的怀昂郡兴建，公园内还会有一座九层楼高的供有大佛的庙宇和仿照中国水乡建造的迷你小城。

　　当地郡长道格•伊顿说，这座定于2020年前落成的公园将会成为澳大利亚的主要旅游景点之一。

　　他说：“除了悉尼歌剧院和海港大桥之外，这座主题公园有潜力成为澳大利亚最大的旅游胜地。”

　　“这一提案将把怀昂郡变成旅游胜地，为该地区带来数百万美元的旅游收入，这会使整个区域的经济产生流动效应。”

　　委员会已经同意把土地卖给负责该项目的私人公司——澳大利亚中国主题公园私人有限公司。该项目将于2015年动工，最先兴建的是紫禁城大门。

　　这座公园还将包括唐宋时期的建筑区，以及明清风格的建筑区。

　　公园内还会有一个1000个座位的剧院、几个饭馆、几个多功能厅、一所皇家别墅，和一个以熊猫为主题的儿童区（不过里面一只熊猫也不会有）。

　　澳大利亚中国主题公园私人有限公司的董事长布鲁斯•钟说：“这一耗资5亿美元的主题公园将会是一个独一无二的旅游胜地，公园将雇用1000多个工作人员，为怀昂郡带来经济繁荣。”

　　该项目旨在进一步挖掘有利可图的中国旅游市场。每年到新南威尔士州的中国游客超过40万人次。