SILKROADLAND: MIXING ADVENTURE AND KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE “EDUTAINMENT”

SILKROADLAND: MIXING ADVENTURE AND KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE “EDUTAINMENT”

The modern world, despite certain economic and political tensions, supports the idea of developing intercultural relations and preserving global cultural heritage. One of the most effective, accessible, exciting and, at the same time, investment-attractive formats of such work is the theme park. For example, Disneyland – one of the most popular amusement parks in the world – generates revenues of approximately $253 billion annually and provides jobs for more than 300,000 people, according to various sources. There are only a few such magical places in the world: in California, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris and Florida. There are parks dedicated to ecology, zoology, dinosaurs and many other subjects, but there is still no park that promotes one of the greatest eras in world civilization history and culture, which in many ways defined modern progress.

BIG IDEA

This, of course, is the subject of the Great Silk Road. For more than fifteen centuries, this economic (and political) network linked countries from China to Britain, carrying the latest scientific ideas and the unique beauty of each nation along caravan routes over land and sea. And although it is generally accepted that the Silk Road ended on the west coast of mainland Eurasia, the Roman Empire also provided access to the territories of the modern United Kingdom (still home to many treasures and relics, and actively integrating the best minds from around the world into its system).

In 2016, at the request of her grandson, Sultan, to create a silk cocoon of immortality, Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova (PhD in Art science), who has been studying the processes of integration of Eastern and Western cultures for many years, collected ancient legends she had heard from her grandmother into the first volume of the children’s book ‘The Legends of Great Silk Road. Adventures of the Spirit of Time’. Almost immediately, the idea of creating an educational and amusement theme park ‘SilkRoadLand’ on the Disneyland model was born. As in the case of Disney, the presence of attractive characters from ancient legends, as well as main characters of modern times make up the basis of this theme park.

The idea of the park was developed and visualised by the famous French company ‘Voltere by Egis’, and the copyright for it was registered in 2018 year by the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan SUE (#000864). The international community expect the project to find success not just at home but also abroad.

CONCEPT

The park will be the world’s first oriental edutainment park and an attractive tourist destination. It will be filled with exciting immersive attractions as well as educational centres such as the Ulugbek Stars Observatory, Avicenna Clinic, Al-Ula Incense Centre and many others on Caravan Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road areas. Treasure hunting in search of a silk cocoon of immortality with scientific discovery will be the leitmotif that will guide visitors through the park. The main format will be immersive shows where children and their parents will become active participants in a journey through time with specially trained animation guides. The impressive ‘SilkRoadLand’ complex is designed to be more than just a weekend entertainment experience, but an adventure area capable of capturing the public’s interest and ensuring that visitors return to the park several times. Its educational purpose will make it a project that preserves the heritage of the Silk Road countries and passes it on to future generations.

WORK IN PROGRESS

To date, the visualisation, feasibility study and timetable are fully ready. The project was actively supported by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and information about it was sent to all Embassies in Uzbekistan to attract potential international partners. Thanks to this, in February 2024 the Embassy of Qatar invited the author of the project Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova to a meeting with Power International Holding, where a memorandum of understanding was signed. Within the framework of the memorandum, at the insistence of the project author, it was agreed that the first oriental Edutainment ‘SilkRoadLand’ park will be launched in Uzbekistan, and then start franchise parks in other countries.

Not only technical issues, but also the creative component has been detailed and expanded. Since the registration of the project, Gulchekhra-begim has written four fairy tale books about history adventures of the Spirit of Time named Zaman Bobo and his young friends. The first two 3D animation films of the same name have already been shown to audiences, and parts 3 and 4 are in production with consolidated resources of Uzbek Film and the Association of Animation of Uzbekistan. More than that, four seasons of the animated series are in the works, each of which will consist of ten short cartoons available for kids aged 6+. This strong media background makes the project interesting not only in terms of the direct investment into SilkRoadLand park, but also in monetization heroes of the Spirit of Time through merchandise, printing production and various visual content.

Now the Ministry of Tourism of Uzbekistan is actively working on attracting international partners from Turkey, India and Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan has also expressed interest in the implementation of this project. The project is open for co-investors and partners in all kinds of areas.

RECOGNITION

The project has already received high praise from French and Qatari partners, with influential woman May Musk expressing interest.

Attempts to replicate the project within Uzbekistan have also become a symbol of recognition. In the spring of this year, the construction of a water park ‘The Grand Serai’, was announced in Tashkent, very similar in style and name to one of the fragments of ‘SilkRoadLand’. That project is much more decoration shopping scale, than the original idea, but the visualisation of the project is clearly inspired by the images developed by ‘Voltere by Egis’. Anyway, that is to compliment the SilkRoadLand project with a wise oriental proverb – “If others find value in copying you, it means your work is highly regarded”.

Meanwhile, the ‘Adventures of the Spirit of Time’ book series has been published in the UK and nominated for Best Adaptation for Children award by Hertfordshire Press. This will make the characters and the concept of the park itself, which is a recurring theme in the ‘Adventures of the Spirit of Time’ books, as accessible and relevant to an international audience as Walt Disney’s characters. This approach will transform ‘SilkRoadLand’ from a local project for a domestic audience into an international tourist attraction with strong franchise treasures potential for active and future co-investors.

by Taina Kaunis