Editor's note: The Shanghai Disney Resort was opened on Thursday, and tourists from home and abroad flocked to visit Disney's first theme park on the Chinese mainland. The Resort's construction was approved in 2009. In the seven years since, China Daily photographers captured the progress and changes that took place. Here's a look at how a fairyland was built up from nothing.

A field in Pudong New Area was designated as the site for building the Shanghai Disney Resort, Nov 5, 2009. [Photo by Jing Wei/Asianewsphoto]