Looks like Jack and Rose are headed east: A giant Titanic replica will anchor a new theme park in China’s Sichuan province.
Photos show workers assembling the 882-foot-long, approximately $145 million replica, called the New Titanic. It will eventually include recreations of the famous ship’s ballroom, theater, swimming pool and guest rooms based on Titanic blueprints obtained from around the world, CNN reports.
Plans also include a simulator that will let visitors virtually experience hitting an iceberg, as the original ship did before it famously sank more than 100 years ago. Executives from a Chinese investment firm hosted a ceremony Wednesday to mark the start of construction.
Unsurprisingly, the decision to turn a tragedy into a tourism opportunity has proven a bit controversial. Hollywood production designer Curtis Schnell, who is consulting on the project, said it is being handled in a “very respectful way,” Reuters reports.
When finished next year, the replica will remain docked in a reservoir as part of a larger theme park that will also feature replicas of a Venetian church and European castles.
This new project is not to be confused with the Titanic II, a real working ship that’ll set sail in 2018. Nostalgia, ahoy!
Related
Before You Go
