But despite the parks' success, the firm's chief executive, Wang Xuguang, says expansion requires a change of tack.

"We had heated discussions when mulling over development, but we decided to follow a light-asset strategy rather than building more large parks like others are doing," he said.

Wang said the firm planned to build a batch of "mini ocean worlds" in big-city shopping centres. It also plans to offer its operational experience and know-how to other park operators or shopping centres that want to set up small aquariums.

"Today in China developers are building their parks bigger and bigger using renowned foreign design companies and purchasing quality equipment from around the world, but a successful amusement park is not just a matter of money," he said.

A cool head was needed amid concerns the market had become too crowded, he said. "We believe there'll be projects running into trouble over the coming few years. We will keep a close eye on any acquisition opportunities in the market."

There are 21 parks scheduled to open this year, according to , and a further 20 are under construction.

The mainland's first Disneyland, in Shanghai's Pudong district, is due to open early next year, while Universal Studios will see its first project open to the public in Beijing in 2019.

Major local players cashing in on the market include China's largest commercial property developer, Dalian Wanda, which is creating a 15 billion yuan theme park and resort in Yunnan province due to open this year. Shenzhen-based Fantawild is expanding aggressively, with five big parks to open in second- and third-tier mainland cities.

Haichang's Polar Ocean Park project is under construction near Dishui Lake to the east of Shanghai, about 30 minutes' ride from the new Disneyland.

Shanghai's government hopes Haichang's park will become a major tourist attraction to rank alongside Disney's venture.

The 2.5 billion yuan park will cover 300,000 square metres and Haichang is expecting six million people to visit each year.

"The arrival of Disney does not put pressure on us, it creates a kind of momentum," said Wang, a bank executive before joining Haichang in 2007.

"The greatest thing about Disney is that it can attract people to visit its parks and shop for its products repeatedly. Very few local parks can do this."

Wang asked his twin daughters several months ago what they wanted for their sixth birthday party. The answer was "the full collection of Disney princess dresses, wigs and shoes".

"Disney has perfectly combined its parks and products with its cartoon films. Their products are not simply pretty, but involve people's emotions," he said.

Learning from the US entertainment giant, the next step for Haichang would be to produce its own cartoons and launch more products featuring their mascots: a white whale, a penguin, a polar bear, a dolphin and a walrus, said Wang.

At the company's amusement park in Dalian it plays a long clip from the Hollywood cartoon , but the firm is about to sign an agreement with a Malaysian film-making team to produce a 15-minute film of its own.

Wang said the big challenge to become as successful as Disney was neither finding investment nor generating innovative ideas.

"What we are concerned about most is the intellectual protection environment in China. If you launch something new there will be similar things sold at your door at one-tenth of your price in a week. Even so, we've been determined to do our own thing."