Photographs show £125m Chinese replica of Titanic is taking shape
A Titanic effort! Aerial photographs reveal how the £125m Chinese replica of doomed ocean liner built using the ship’s original blueprints is taking shape
- Everything on the new ship will be be an exact copy of the original, from the decoration to the food
- The copy of the luxurious passenger ship will be a part of a grand theme park in Sichuan, south-west China
- Investors had initially planned to introduce an ‘iceberg experience’, but the idea was deemed ‘upsetting’
The construction of a full-size replica of the Titanic in China is nearing completion as investors continue to plough millions into the project.
New aerial images reveal that the replica of the sunken ocean liner is taking shape after the project began in 2016.
The copy of the luxurious passenger ship, which sank in 1912 killing 1,500 people, will be a part of a grand theme park in Sichuan, south-west China, and is being painstakingly reproduced.
Aerial view of life-size Titanic replica under construction on a bank of Qijiang River at Daying County on February 15, 2019
The replicated Titanic being built in Suining, south-west China, was half complete in 2017, according to the Chinese media. Pictured here on a bank of Qijiang River at Daying County on February 15, 2019
Six out of the nine decks of the massive ship were built by 2017 and the rest of the project is expected to complete this year. The replica (pictured on Friday) will include all the features of the original one.
The company behind the project said in 2017 that workers were working around the clock in order to hit the target (pictured)
This photo taken on September 14 2017 shows a Chinese emplyee working at the construction of the full-size replica
Karl Marx’s Highgate cemetery memorial stone is vandalised…
Death squads roam in the ruins of the caliphate: A gripping…
Revealed: Making toast exposes people to more toxic air…
Share this article
Romandisea, the company which is building the replica ship, had initially planned to introduce a high-tech simulation to let tourists relive the moment when the ship hit the iceberg.
But the investors had to drop the plan after family members of the victims and survivors of the Titanic called the idea ‘upsetting’.
The Chinese Titanic will be an exact replica of the original ship, from the size to the decoration to the menu.
Measuring 269.06 metres (882.7 feet) long and 28.19 metres (92.3 feet) wide, the tourist attraction will be placed 10.54 metres (34.6 feet) into the water and docked permanently on the Daying Qi river in Suining city.
The knock-off cruise liner will be located in the Romantic Mediterranean section of the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort.
Romandisea, the company which is building the replica ship, had initially planned to introduce a high-tech simulation to let tourists relive the moment when the ship hit the iceberg. Pictured here on Thurday
The copy of the luxurious passenger ship, which sank in 1912 after crashing into an iceberg, will be a part of a theme park
When the project was unveiled, the investors planned to introduce a simulation to let tourists relive the moment of the hit that sunk the famous liner, but those plans were scrapped. Construction from this week is pictured
A spokesperson said that the replica of the ‘massive and legendary ship’ could provide tourists with ‘spiritual satisfaction’
Ambitious project: The £105 million replica will be permanently docked in the Daying Qi river in Sichuan, south-west China
A spokesperson of the resort said previously that the company is trying to build a wonderland which people around the world could relate to emotionally, according to the tourism authority of Suining.
The spokesperson added that the replica of the ‘massive and legendary ship’ could provide tourists with ‘spiritual satisfaction’. It would also serve as a reminder of how the Titanic passengers helped each other while facing the disaster.
THE ‘UNSINKABLE’ TITANIC – BY THE NUMBERS
Construction timeline: 1909-1912
Cost: $7.5million (£1.5million)
Maiden voyage: April 10, 1912
Passengers: 2,223
Crew: 885
Length: 882ft 9in
Height: 174ft
Lifeboat capacity: 1,178
Decks: 9
Maximum speed: 24 knots
Construction company: Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast
The replica is scheduled to open to members of the public in 2019.
The Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort is set to be one of the most impressive theme parks in China.
Su Shaojun, chief executive of the development company has said: ‘In addition to the Titanic, we also have the world’s largest man-made beach which visitors can go inside regardless of day or night. 365 days a year, it remains at a constant temperature.
‘The man-made space can accommodate four or five thousand tourists. We will have yachts, hot springs and acres of the resort.’
Artist impression of the interior view of the hallway, in the full-scale replica. The idea has been called ‘poor taste’
A first-class cabin will also be replicated. The Titanic is an object of great interest in China following the 1997 film
The families of the victims and survivors have said the replica of the doomed ship doesn’t suit the situation
According to Wang Weiling, deputy manager of the ship building process, the site does not have modern shipbuilding capacity. As a result, the workers have had to develop a reasonable construction plan. The ship is made in parts and will be then pieced together.
The 50,000 tonnes of steel cost some £105 million to build. Back in 1912, the original ship cost around £1.5 million to build, the equivalent to about £33 million today.
According to the information released at the launch ceremony of the replicated Titanic project in 2015, guests who wish to visit the copy will have to pay 3,000 Yuan (£315) a night for a cabin, while more expensive rooms will cost around 100,000 Yuan (£11,251).
In addition, there will be ballroom dancing, pool parties, and Las Vegas style entertainment on the ship to transport guests back to 1912.
Guests will have to pay £315 a night for a cabin on board the ship, while more expensive rooms will cost around £11,251
Exact copy: Every detail from the door handles to light switches will be painstakingly reproduced on the Titanic replica
The ship will be a part of the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort in Suining, south-west China
DISASTER IN THE ATLANTIC: HOW MORE THAN 1,500 LOST THEIR LIVES WHEN THE TITANIC SUNK
The Titanic sank during its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 15, 1912, five days after it set sail and more than 1,500 people died. The liner had many fans in China after the 1997 film (pictured), featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
The RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
More than 1,500 people died when the ship, which was carrying 2,224 passengers and crew, sank under the command of Captain Edward Smith.
Some of the wealthiest people in the world were on board, including property tycoon John Jacob Astor IV, great grandson of John Jacob Astor, founder of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, heir to his family’s mining business, also perished, along with Isidor Straus, the German-born co-owner of Macy’s department store.
The ship was the largest afloat at the time and was designed in such a way that it was meant to be ‘unsinkable’.
It had an on-board gym, libraries, swimming pool and several restaurants and luxury first class cabins.
There were not enough lifeboats on board for all the passengers due to out-of-date maritime safety regulations.
After leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland before heading to New York.
On April 14, 1912, four days into the crossing, she hit an iceberg at 11:40pm ship’s time.
James Moody was on night watch when the collision happened and took the call from the watchman, asking him ‘What do you see?’ The man responded: ‘Iceberg, dead ahead.’
By 2.20am, with hundreds of people still on board, the ship plunged beneath the waves, taking many, including Moody, with it.
Despite repeated distress calls being sent out and flares launched from the decks, the first rescue ship, the RMS Carpathia, arrived nearly two hours later, pulling more than 700 people from the water.
It was not until 1985 that the wreck of the ship was discovered in two pieces on the ocean floor.
Source: Read Full Article