April 8, 2011 | By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger was joined by Shanghai's Communist Party chief and the city's mayor Friday to officially commence construction of a long-awaited theme park that will give the Burbank company a critical beachhead in mainland China. In a carefully staged groundbreaking ceremony interspersed with singing and dancing, Iger said the new park would feature a blend of East and West and underscored the importance of the $3.7-billion project for Disney. "This is a defining moment in our company's history," Iger told the audience from an indoor stage set up across from the site of the planned resort, which he said would be "both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.