Jumbo Kingdom () consisted of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant () and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant (), which were tourist attractions in

Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter The Aberdeen Typhoon Shelters of Hong Kong are Aberdeen West Typhoon Shelter () and Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter (). Both typhoon shelters are located in Southern District, between the southern part of Hong Kong Island and the island Ap Lei ...

, within

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

Harbour. During its 44 years of operation, over thirty million visitors visited Jumbo Kingdom, including

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

, Chow Yun Fat, and

Gong Li Gong Li (Chinese: 巩俐; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese actress. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Gong was born in Shenyang, Liaonin ...

. A subsidiary, Jumbo Kingdom Manila, operated in

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...

, Philippines, but closed after eight years. Jumbo Kingdom was part of

Melco International Development Limited Melco International Development Limited, formerly The Macao Electric Lighting Company Limited, is a multinational investment holding company based in Central, Hong Kong.

, a company listed on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is rep ...

. It suspended operations in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. On 14 June 2022, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed out of Hong Kong to Cambodia to await a new operator. While transiting in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

, it experienced bad weather and capsized near the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...

on 19 June 2022. Its operator has denied describing it as sunk.

Origin

According to a senior editor from the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, predecessors to floating restaurants were once fishermen's barges from the

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

and

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

areas. They had stages built into them for people to host banquets, sing and dance. During the 1920s and 30s, Hong Kong fishermen from Aberdeen began operating similar barges. They originally offered food and banquet services to the fishing community only but gradually began to cater to the rest of the public.

History

The Jumbo Kingdom was established in October 1976 by

Stanley Ho Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong- Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which ow ...

after more than HK$30 million were spent to design and build it. It was originally decorated in the style of an ancient Chinese imperial palace. Ho later purchased Tai Pak in 1980 and Sea Palace in 1982, operating all three former competitors under Jumbo Kingdom.

Tai Pak Floating Restaurant

The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant was established in 1952, when Wong Lo-kat (along with three other investors) purchased a boat and transformed it into a floating restaurant spanning in length. Six years later, Tai Pak was extended to accommodate 800 guests. Due to Tai Pak's smaller size compared to Jumbo, it has already been granted permission as a laid-up vessel and is under negotiation with a buyer. The second Tai Pak floating restaurant operated from Castle Peak, now Tuen Mun, and sold off and relocated to Guangxi in the 1980s.

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Wong ordered the construction of a second restaurant, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, by the Kowloon Chung Hwa shipyard, at the price of HK$14 million. It was similarly decorated in the style of an imperial palace. On 30 October 1971, a four-alarm fire occurred at the restaurant before its opening which left 34 dead and 42 injured. It had to be rebuilt after new owners Stanley Ho and Cheng Yu-ting bought the title to the remaining assets in July 1972. After total expenditure of HK$30 million, the restaurant began operation in 1976. During the 1980s and 90s, a period of great prosperity in Hong Kong, the restaurant was often one of the destinations for investors and foreign tourists. Every night, large numbers of diners feasted on such cuisine as crabs, lobster, and roasted suckling pig. Even though most locals knew that the best food was not served there, its exotic oriental atmosphere helped it become a symbol that is somewhat but not entirely unique about Hong Kong. In the finale of the 1996 comedy film ''

The God of Cookery ''The God of Cookery'' () is a 1996 Hong Kong comedy film produced, written, starring, and directed by Stephen Chow. Synopsis Stephen Chow (the Chinese characters used for Chow's name in the movie are different from Chow's actual name) is a ...

'',

Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for '' Shaolin Soccer'' and '' Kung Fu Hustle''. Early life and education Stephen Chow was born in Hong K ...

judged a cooking competition that caught the attention of audiences all over China; it was held inside the restaurant. The restaurant intermittently suspended operations after the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

. It went through a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2003, emerging as a structure in length, in area and boasting a seating capacity of 2,300 diners, along with a dragon throne, aquarium and a six-storey pagoda. On 1 March 2020, the restaurant announced it would be closed until further notice and laid off all staff due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. According to the November 2020 Hong Kong

policy address Policy Address () is the annual address by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (Governor prior to the handover). The practice of giving annual policy address is mandated under Article 64 of the Basic Law, requiring the government to "present regu ...

, the operator of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant agreed to donate the vessel to

Ocean Park Hong Kong Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known as Ocean Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is the second largest t ...

as part of the Invigorating Island South project. On 12 March 2021, it was reported that the plan to reactivate the restaurant had been shelved. Other proposals to preserve it, such as relocating onto land or converting to a

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

museum, were all met with objections. The

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

did not comment following a suggestion for it to take in the vessel. The

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

stated that because ships are not covered under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance, they cannot be evaluated for conservation.

2022 capsizing

According to the parent company Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises (ARE), as of 2022 the Jumbo Floating Restaurant had been unprofitable since 2013 and had accumulated losses exceeding HK$100 million. On 30 May 2022, the company announced that the restaurant would leave Hong Kong in June 2022. ARE's offers to donate it were not successful as all interested parties cited high operating costs, which can run in the millions of Hong Kong dollars annually. Because its operating licence with the Marine Department was due to expire, and there was no berth available, ARE decided to have the restaurant towed out of Hong Kong and wait for better prospects. At roughly 11pm on 31 May, the kitchen boat of the restaurant began listing following a hull breach. It happened as preparations were being made to tow the restaurant. It was eventually towed out of Hong Kong on 14 June, though the kitchen boat and Tai Pak were left behind. The destination was Cambodia according to the Marine Department, but this has not been confirmed by ARE. The company said that before the tow, the restaurant was inspected, hoardings were installed, and all relevant approvals were obtained. On 18 June 2022, while being towed in the

, the restaurant experienced bad weather and began listing. Despite rescue efforts, it fully capsized the next day near the

in waters over deep. Amidst speculations that the boat had sunk, the Hong Kong Marine Department requested a report from ARE, which issued a statement saying that the tug and restaurant were still in the waters and that it had always used the term "capsized", not "sunk". In August, the

Maritime Safety Administration The Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China (CMSA; ) is a government agency which administers all matters related to maritime and shipping safety, including the supervision of maritime traffic safety and security, prevent ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

said the boat had keeled over and was trapped on a reef near

Sansha Sansha City () is a prefecture-level city under the Hainan province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and is the southernmost and least populated prefecture in China, with the smallest land area but the largest maritime territory. The ...

. In October, DimSum Daily reported that there had been an operation to salvage Jumbo's wreckage. Tourism lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung said the loss was of the city's heritage, adding that the "government, conservationists, historians and the commercial sector should be working together to protect" historic sites but everyone had "stalled too long." Other lawmakers in Hong Kong requested an investigation of the South Korean tug boat company to determine whether there was human error or malpractice involved. The company, which employed a South Korean crew, has denied allegations of foul play. In 2021, the same tugboat, ''Jaewon 9'', was involved in an incident where the vessel that it was towing sank after the towing line broke. Commentators from the fishing and shipbuilding industries said that a safer method would have been using a

semi-submersible Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as: * Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport *Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface * ...

ship, like the ones that transported Sea Palace to

and

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

. The market availability of such vessels is low, however, and the price for their service can be prohibitive. The chairman of Yun Lee Marine Group said he does not know of any owners of semi-submersibles in Hong Kong. Some pointed out that the restaurant is top heavy due to its multi-story superstructure and that towing it outside to the high seas should have called for extra precautions. Others argued that as long as the boat itself can be proven as seaworthy, the specific method of transport is secondary. A digital, three-dimensional model of Jumbo has been created by a student, Shiu Ka-heng. He fed photographs of the boat's exterior into a computer program that transformed them into models viewable using virtual reality goggles. Shiu hopes to archive pieces of Hong Kong history, such as the State Theatre that is undergoing revamp, and said that anyone can use his online platform to turn images into virtual models.

Sea Palace

In 1991, Sea Palace was renamed "Jumbo Palace". Shortly after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it was sold for US$800 million and towed to Manila Bay. Rebranded as "Jumbo Kingdom Manila", much of the original ancient Chinese imperial palace style renovation was retained. The highest level was turned into a large dance floor, and a resident band was hired. It closed down in 2008. The boat was donated to the government of

Shantung Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

province in 2011 and towed to Tsingtao as part of an upcoming seaside park. It was intended to undergo reconstruction, including an underwater structure that prevents up and down movements in water, and reopen in May 2014 catering primarily to wedding events, but renovations were still incomplete as of 2021. Local residents have attempted to tour the closed boat on their own, despite the rusting hull and a safety perimeter put in place to deter visitors. A member of the city's

SASAC The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) is a special commission of the People's Republic of China, directly under the State Council. It was founded in 2003 through the consolidation of vario ...

said that because of how complex the structure of the boat is and the absence of some supporting facilities, the operator has not been able to reopen the restaurant.

Attractions

* Roof Deck: An alfresco banquet hall located on the top deck of Jumbo serving fine Western food. * Dragon Court: Dragon Court was a fine dining Chinese restaurant located on the first deck of Jumbo. The interior design of the restaurant was a mixture of

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and contemporary Chinese. * Shum Wan Pier Garden: Outdoor venue for wedding and cocktail receptions. A staff canteen was located on the fourth floor of Jumbo Kingdom, named So-Kee Coffee Shop (), that served

Hong Kong cuisine Hong Kong cuisine is mainly influenced by Cantonese cuisine, European cuisines (especially British cuisine) and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisines (especially Hakka, Teochew, Hokkien and Shanghainese), as well as Japanese, Korean and Southeast ...

including noodles and

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

. The boat also housed a cooking academy and facilities for conference and banqueting.

In popular culture

* The Jumbo Floating Restaurant appeared in the James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974),

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's '' The Protector'' (1985), in '' Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1992), ''

'' (1996), '' Godzilla vs Destroyah'', '' Infernal Affairs II'', ''

Emanuelle Around the World ''Emanuelle Around the World'' (Italian: ''Emanuelle – Perché violenza alle donne?'', also known as ''Confessions of Emanuelle'') is a 1977 sexploitation directed by Joe D'Amato. The film stars Laura Gemser and George Eastman, Karin Schubert and ...

'' (1977) and '' Contagion'' (2011). * The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant was featured in '' Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955)'',

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

'' (1973), ''The God of Cookery'' (1996), and '' Contagion'' (2011). * Jumbo Kingdom also appeared in the video games '' Fatal Fury 2'', '' Fatal Fury Special'' and '' Sleeping Dogs''. * It appeared in various episodes of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in fore ...

'' and its international spinoffs. * The American miniseries '' Noble House'' depicts the compound being destroyed by a fire.

Access

The Jumbo Kingdom was formerly accessed via a free shuttle boat from

Aberdeen Promenade Aberdeen Promenade () is a small urban waterfront park in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. It is located on the north shore of Aberdeen Bay across from Aberdeen Island. See also *List of urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong Urban public parks a ...

or from Sham Wan pier.

Gallery

File:Aberdeen harbour hk.jpg, Jumbo Kingdom pier along

File:Jumbo Floating Restaurant 1st Floor Relief and Badge.jpg, 1st Floor Relief and Badge File:Jumbo Kingdom staircase.JPG, Staircase leading up to top deck File:Jumbo Ferry.jpg, alt=, Transport boat to restaurant

References

External links

Hong Kong website
{{2022 shipwrecks Restaurants in Hong Kong Defunct restaurants Tourist attractions in Hong Kong Landmarks in Hong Kong Chinese restaurants Defunct Chinese restaurants Seafood restaurants Defunct seafood restaurants Aberdeen, Hong Kong Floating restaurants Restaurants established in 1976 1976 establishments in Hong Kong Maritime incidents in 2022 Restaurants disestablished in 2022 Cantonese cuisine Cantonese restaurants