Hong Kong’s floating Jumbo Restaurant sinks into the sea

(CNN) – An iconic Hong Kong floating restaurant has sunk, just days after being towed out to sea on its way to an unspecified destination.

Jumbo Kingdom, a three-story ship whose exterior was designed after a Chinese imperial palace, was towed by tugboats last Tuesday after nearly half a century moored in the southwestern waters of the city.

The restaurant’s main boat was traveling to an undisclosed shipyard when it capsized on Saturday after encountering “adverse conditions” near the Paracel Islands (also known as the Xisha Islands) in the South China Sea, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Limited said. in a statement Monday.

The Jumbo Kingdom in Hong Kong, photographed in 2014.

Bruce Yan / South China Morning Post / Getty Images

The boat sank more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), making rescue work “extremely difficult,” the statement said.

He added that Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises was “very sad about this accident” and was working to gather more details from the trailer company. No crew member was injured.

The news was received with dismay online, and many Hong Kong social media users lamented the inelegant ending of one of Hong Kong’s most recognizable historical icons. Some posted artwork depicting the restaurant underwater, while others shared farewell messages or fond memories of past visits.

Others saw the sinking of the ship as a dark comic metaphor for Hong Kong’s alleged fortunes, as the city, still largely closed to the rest of the world, clings to pandemic restrictions after several years of collapse. political unrest.

The 260-foot-long (about 80-meter) restaurant was the main vessel of the Jumbo Kingdom, a restaurant with a capacity for more than 2,000 people that included an older and smaller sister restaurant ship, a barge for seafood depots. a kitchen boat and eight small ferries. to transport visitors from the nearby docks.

Jumbo Kingdom, once the largest floating restaurant in the world, starred in many Hong Kong and international films, including “Enter the Dragon” starring Bruce Lee and “James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun “. It also hosted visiting luminaries such as Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter and Tom Cruise.

The restaurant, which could only be accessed by small Jumbo ferries, was famous for its magnificent imperial-style façade, its abundant neon lights, the massive custom-commissioned paintings in the room of the Jumbo. ‘ladder and its colorful Chinese-style motifs, including a golden throne in the dining room.

“A restaurant of this scale in a floating structure is quite unique in the world,” Charles Lai, an architect and founder of Hong Kong Architectural History, said in an interview with CNN earlier this month.

“If we look at the historical context, it was built at a time when this imperial-style Chinese aesthetic was not even fostered in China (‘ Ancient Things ’had to be removed during the Cultural Revolution). So Jumbo Kingdom reflected how the Chinese in Hong Kong then had a greater longing or passion for these old Chinese traditions, ”Lai said.

“(Also) reflects Hong Kong’s close relationship and history with the sea.”

But as the island’s southern port fishing population dwindled, the group of restaurants became less popular and had been in deficit since 2013.

The pandemic came to an end, and Jumbo owners announced in March 2020 that they had accumulated losses of more than $ 13 million and the restaurant would be closed until further notice.

Several proposals had been put forward to save the historic icon, but its high maintenance cost had deterred potential investors, and Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam also ruled out a possible government bailout to save the attraction.

Without a “white knight” rescuer the city had been waiting for, the owner decided to move the floating restaurant Jumbo, the main ship, to an undisclosed shipyard before his operating license expired in late June.

The Tai Pak, the smallest and oldest ship dating back to 1952, as well as a recently overturned kitchen ship, remain moored in the harbor.

Maggie Hiufu Wong contributed to the report.

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