A life-size replica of the ill-fated luxury liner Titanic will be assembled in southwest China's Sichuan Province at the end of this year, it was revealed on August 5 during the second China (Sichuan) International Tourism Investment Conference in Chengdu.
The assembly will be a grand scene where more than 1,000 people will be working together with the help of super-large machines, said Su Shaojun, Chairman of the project's investor Qixing Energy Investment Group.
"We will open a special tourist route to the assembly site for people to witness the revival of the luxury liner," said Su.
The replica will be 270 meters long and 28 meters wide, with a draught of 10 meters, the exact measurements of the original.
News of Qixing's plan to invest 1 billion yuan in building a replica of the Titanic broke in January 2014, attracting much attention and controversy both in China and abroad. In June of the next year, commemorative tickets went on sale in Hong Kong. Nothing new has emerged about the project since then.
According to Su, in the year since the tickets went on sale, the investor, the designer and the shipbuilder consulted with each other multiple times regarding various matters relating to design, construction, transportation and assembly. Design experts from Titanic Belfast in Northern Ireland and a high-tech team from Hollywood have been invited to join the project.
It is reported that to ensure an accurate resemblance to the original Titanic, astonishing attention has been given to each and every detail of the full-sized replica during the building.
"Lamps, door handles and even flush toilets on board are handmade by foreign experts," said Su.
Even the menu is exactly the same as it was one century ago.
There will also be masquerades, pool parties and Las Vegas style games on board the replica.
While looking exactly like the original, the replica also employs a high-tech simulation to allow tourists to experience the moment when the original hit the iceberg and the feelings when such a disaster occurred.
To ensure accurate reproduction, the investment has been increased from the original 1 billion yuan to 1.2 billion yuan, said Su.
The replica is more like a luxury hotel than a liner, as it will be permanently docked on the Qi River in Daying County, Sichuan.
It can accommodate 1,500 people per day. Rates for average rooms are 3,000 yuan a night, and are as much as 100,000 per night for luxury ones.
It is said that part of the income will go to the Titanic Fund, a fund established to help maritime disasters around the world.
The tourist attraction is set to open to the public in 2018.
