Located on the south side of Hong Kong Island, on 879, 000 square meters of land on both sides of Brick Hill (Nam Long Shan), Ocean Park was Hong Kong’s home grown marine theme park [see Exhibit 1]. Opened in 1977, construction of the Park was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club on a site granted by the Hong Kong Government at a nominal premium. 2 Until 30 June 1987, Ocean Park had operated as a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
On 1 July 1987, the Park became a not-for-profit organization, managed by Ocean Park Corporation (OPC) incorporated under the Ocean Park Ordinance. The mandate of OPC, stipulated by the Ordinance, was to manage Ocean Park as a public recreational and educational park and to develop Ocean Park for purposes of recreation oreducation[see Exhibit 2]. 30 years after it first opened its gates to the public, Ocean Park had established itself as a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong endeared by tourists and locals alike [see Exhibit 3]. The mission of the Park was to provide guests with memorable experiences that combined entertainment and education, while inspiring life long learning and conservation, on a self financed basis. Each year, about 30, 000 school children in Hong Kong visited the Park to learn about animals. In 2001, the Park’s research and conservation efforts on marine mammals and artificial insemination delivered two of the world’s first artificially conceived dolphin calves. A male and a female local bred bottlenose dolphin were living with their parents in the Park’s Dolphin University.
