China Begins Building Construction Full-Size Titanic Replica
For a long time, China has projected to the world its fascination with building replicas of historic structures, and it seems to only be getting started.The communist superpower’s latest tourism project may be the most ambitious yet – a scale replica of the massive RMS Titanic.The People’s Daily reported that construction of the 880-foot replica luxury liner began Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Once completed, the ship will be a fixed tourist attraction and not made for the open water. It will feature a ballroom, theater, swimming pool and premium first class guestrooms, in addition to reproductions of original facilities and amenities on the ship, according to the company tasked with building the ship – China-based Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group.The project is funded by Sichuan Seven Star Energy Investment Group, which invested the equivalent of $145 million U.S. dollars in the project in 2014.
The attraction will be a component in the much larger Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort, located in Sichuan Province.A completion date has not been revealed for the project.The Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, killing 1,500 passengers and crew.While China has started work on the most recent attempt, this is not the first project hoping to replicate the doomed ocean liner.Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced in 2012 that his company – Blue Star Line – would undertake the construction of the Titanic II, but the project has since stalled and construction has yet to begin on the vessel.
After 104 years, it looks like we’ve finally passed the realm of “too soon.” On Wednesday, a Chinese shipbuilding company started construction on a full-scale replica of the RMS Titanic, the Belfast-built ship that struck an iceberg and sunk on its maiden voyage on the night of April 14, 1912. Located in a reservoir in Daying County, Sichuan—about 80 miles from the provincial capital of Chengdu—the ship is being built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group and partially funded by the local tourism board at a projected cost of $145 million, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.
Considering that upon completion, the replica will be floating 745 miles from the sea, the ship clearly isn’t being built with transoceanic travel in mind. (The end date remains unspecified.) Instead, it will be a permanently docked tourist attraction in a country where the ship’s tragic history captured the national imagination after James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster. The interest has only grown: In 2012, the Chinese release of the 3D version of the film shattered records when opening-weekend box office sales hit $67 million.
When finally finished, the “Sichuan Titanic” will measure 882-feet long by 92-feet wide, just like the original, and interiors will follow available blueprints closely, with a functioning ballroom, theater, swimming pool, and both first- and second-class accommodations for overnight stays. Besides a notable lack of icebergs in its vicinity—although the company’s website does advertise a simulated “iceberg experience” (yikes)—there will also be one other major improvement from the original: Wi-Fi. The Titanic replica will be the centerpiece of a planned amusement park that will also include, among other attractions, “the world’s largest indoor seaside resort”—yeah, we’re confused, too.
SOURCE: goo.gl/FAEjmX