Odyssey (also marketed as Journey to the West) directed by Hong Kong actor/director Zhou Xingchi (Stephen Chow) has become only the third Chinese film to earn over 800 million yuan at the box office after Lost in Thailand and Chinese Zodiac directed by Jackie Chan.

Riding the success of the movie based on the famous Chinese novel Story of a Journey to the West, Stephen Chow is breaking into tourism real estate investment in mainland China.

China Vision Media Group Limited (01060.HK) announced on Feb. 19 it plans to buy land in Zhejiang province, covering 691.4 Mu (1 Mu = 666.67 m²) for an amusement park based on Journey to the West.

According the announcement, a new joint-venture will be established for this project, of which China Vision Media will hold 75 percent and Stephen Chow will hold the remaining 25 percent.

Work on the “Journey to the West” theme park will begin at the end of the year and open to the public by 2015, with a plan to integrate cultural tourism, entertainment and technology.

In fact, Stephen Chow has signed a contract with China Vision Media on Oct. 12 last year to establish a joint venture for the investment into cultural tourism programs in mainland China.

The rapid development of the movie-tourism industry provides unprecedented opportunities for the development of movie real estate. People are increasingly passionate about investment in this sector.

Last July, Chinese director Feng Xiaogang partnered with Huayi Brothers (300027.SZ) and Mission Hills Group to build a film theme tourism program named after Feng Xiaogang.

Meanwhile, Anhui province announced an investment of 7 billion yuan building a movie base. Hong Kong Satellite Television bid 3 billion yuan for a studio city at Lake Chaohu. Changchun Film Group also is said to be investing 43.6 billion yuan to build a film theme park in Hainan province.