Universal Studios Beijing opens for business, but can we call it “USB?”

Knowing my luck, I’ll go in upside down every time.

Residents of Beijing China, were given a treat on 20 September in the form of a brand new Universal Studios theme park. Although the grand opening took place on a drizzly Monday, crowds young and old flocked to be a part of this historic event.

▼ News report with scenes of the opening

This is the fifth park of its kind, after Japan, Singapore, Orlando, and Hollywood, and will feature many of the same movie-themed attractions found in other parks such as Jurassic Park rides and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But in addition, there will also be some sections with a more Chinese feel, like an area based on the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

The park is expected to draw over 10 million visitors per year, and is hoped to help bolster the embattled Chinese economy which is dealing with pandemic effects, a trade war with the USA, and growing uncertainty over the colossal real-estate firm Evergrande.

Speaking of the ongoing tensions with America, many readers of the news in Japan wondered if a theme park based solely on Hollywood films would really fly in China, which has been notoriously fickle when it comes to accepting certain western movies.

“They’ll let it become popular first. Then the regulations will come.”
“But Little Kyoto closed after a few days. Is China really going to accept this, or is the whole conflict with the US just acting?”
“I think they’ll shut it down soon.”
“We all know how this is going to end, right? The government will be angered by something and it will close.”
“At least Universal Studios Japan won’t be as crowded anymore.”
“Why are some people calling it ‘USB?'”

To explain that last question, over here Universal Studios Japan is very frequently referred to by its abbreviation “USJ.” It’s unclear whether this is being done in China, but the Japanese media at least appears to be following the same format with Universal Studios Beijing and are calling it “USB.” One reason this is causing some readers confusion, is that in Japanese “Beijing” is still referred to as “Peking,” hence “USP” might seem a more logical acronym.

However, the more universal problem is that the nickname is of course shared with the wide range of standardized cable connectors.

▼ Since it’s in Beijing, China, I guess it would be a USB-C type

That being said, in Japan there is also a major bank that is often called “UFJ” which has been confused with “USJ” a few times in conversations I had, during which someone’s plans for the weekend go from incredibly exciting to incredibly mundane in record time. So, maybe there is no ideal acronym.

But despite these challenges that this fledgling park may face, it is absolutely great news that it has arrived. The main reason is that when visiting the grand opening of Super Nintendo World earlier this year, USJ head J.L. Bonnier hinted – albeit in a very hinty way that cannot be confirmed – that other Super Nintendo World sections would be made in other Universal Studios parks that may feature different game franchises from the legendary company.

And if there’s five theme-parks in existence, then the chances of finally getting an interactive Metroid area is just that much better!

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Otaku.com
Top image: Wikipedia/N509FZ
Insert image: Pakutaso
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