And The Heart Does Go On: Titanic Replica To Be Built On A Theme Park In China
A Chinese company attempts to revive the Titanic with a theme park to be constructed at the Sichuan province.
Seven Star Energy Investment announced on Sunday its plans to invest $165 million for the construction of the Titanic replica, which will be docked on the Qi River, near the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort at Sichuan's Daying County.
The same replica will also include a simulation of the ship's hitting of the iceberg which caused the Titanic's sinking in 1912.
"When the ship hits the iceberg, it will shake, it will tumble," Su Shaojun, chief executive of the Seven Star Energy Investment Group told Reuters. "We will let people experience water coming in by using sound and light effects... They will think, 'The water will drown me, I must escape with my life'."
"There are museums dedicated to Titanic in the U.S. and Europe," Su told CNN. "It's time for China to honor the spirit of human responsibility -- how passengers tried to save one another as the ship sank."
But the former Lord Mayor of Belfast Jim Rodgers thinks that while the Titanic replica is a good idea, the iceberg simulation is "going a step too far."
"I don't think it should be done in this fashion," Rodgers said to BBC. "The ship was perfect when it left these shores in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and unfortunately it struck an iceberg, but for people to try and make money out of that is disgraceful and shameful."
RMS Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Rodgers's grandfather was one of the workers who helped built the legendary ship. A visitors' centre is built at the shipyard for those who wish to visit the site where the Titanic was built.
Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer previously announced its plans to create a working replica of the Titanic. The ship, which will be built in China, is set to sail in 2016.