Chinese investors present project to create a pilgrimage site in Benalmádena

A project designed to give the three million Chinese living in Europe “more presence and image in the West” moved a step-closer last week, after the Spanish-Chinese Association presented preliminary plans for a Chinese temple and complex to Benalmádena town hall.

Jesús Majada, vice president of the Marbella-based association, has been mediating between Chinese investors and Benalmádena town hall for nearly two years to get the project off the ground, an initiative which he claims will turn this municipality into a place of pilgrimage.

The project consists of the construction of a large park with a Chinese Zen Buddhism temple, along with a pagoda tower, cultural centre and a cemetery.

The project was first introduced through the former socialist council, and now the PP council has “picked up the gauntlet” to move the initiative forward.

A plot of land close to the cemetery in Benalmádena has been earmarked to build the complex, which is expected to cost around seven million euros and which will be financed by the Asian investors.

It is estimated that 2,000 Chinese arrive in Spain every day, spending an average of 300 euros per day (a figure much higher than that of other tourists). According to Majada, Chinese visitors do not usually spend much time on the Costa del Sol, and “barely stop in Malaga”, preferring Ronda, Seville and Granada.

“If only 500 of the 2,000 Chinese who pass through Spain a day stopped in Malaga, the economic benefits for investors and for the local economy would be very good,” Majada said.