The Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which floated in Hong Kong harbor for 46 years, has sunk in the South China Sea while it was intended to be restored.
The ship sank in “bad weather” near the Paracel Islands, according to the owner. It is an archipelago in the South China Sea. The ship would have capsized, after which it could not be saved. No one was injured. The owner says that salvage is practically impossible, because the sea in the area in question is 1000 meters deep.
Rich history
The restaurant closed its doors last week after 46 years as a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. ‘Jumbo’ was an icon, a special place, where many celebrities used to come: from Tom Cruise to Gong Li, and even the British Queen Elizabeth dined there. It has also featured in many well-known films, for example by Hong Kong icon Jackie Chan.
China correspondent Roland Smid: “It was a unique place in Hong Kong. On the expensive side, but loved by many people. It was also an ideal place for large Chinese weddings and events. But the decline had been visible for years. Jumbo has reportedly suffered major losses since 2014.” The restaurant closed permanently in 2020: the last clientele had also disappeared due to the corona pandemic.
Passion for old traditions
Charles Lai, an architectural historian from the city, recently told CNN that Jumbo’s structure, based on a classical Chinese temple, had deep significance during the time it was built. During the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, much was broken with Chinese traditions. “And Jumbo showed how Chinese people in Hong Kong had a passion for these old traditions.”
The well-known Sea Palace in Amsterdam, near the Central Station, was built in ‘imitation of’ the restaurant in Hong Kong. The owner said this earlier in an interview with Marketing Tribune.
Jumbo would be restored at an unknown location in China. That it sank near the Paracel Islands, far off the Chinese coast, has sparked much speculation online. The suggestion is thereby created that the ship was deliberately placed in difficult waters, in order to avoid an expensive scrapping operation.
