Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park has been in development since at least 2012. When plans for the theme park were initially revealed, the park was originally going to be located on a long, narrow area of land on the east side of Dishui Lake. In the early planning stages, securing the land and government permissions was so critical to Haichang that they hired three different entertainment design firms, including Romero VanRell Jeng and Associates and Legacy Entertainment, at full-fare to design completely different parks, and then let the local officials decide which design they preferred. Eventually Legacy Entertainment's design was selected, and then that design was later adapted to fit the park's new location on the west side of Dishui Lake. The theme park's groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 29, 2015. Trial operations of the theme park began on October 1, 2018.