Minsk World () was a military

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

located in Dapeng Bay, Shatoujiao,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China. It includes the former

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(later

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n) aircraft carrier ''Minsk'', redesigned as a tourist attraction. The theme park opened on 10 May 2000. As of 2005, it had attracted more than five million visitors and generated 450 million yuan in revenue. The park closed in February 2016 and the aircraft carrier was moved to Zhoushan for repairs, after which it would be moved to another theme park in Nantong,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

History

The aircraft carrier ''Minsk'' was part of the Soviet Pacific Fleet. It had to be retired as a result of a major accident which could only be repaired at Chernomorski's facility, located in the newly independent

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. In 1995 it was sold to a

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n businessman, and later resold to Shenzhen Minsk Aircraft Carrier Industry Co. Ltd., a Chinese company. Until 2006, when the company went bankrupt, ''Minsk'' was the centrepiece of a military

in Shatoujiao () district,

called Minsk World. The aircraft carrier was put up for auction on 22 March 2006. No bids at the starting price of 128 million

RMB The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

were received, so the carrier was withdrawn from sale. On 31 May 2006, the ship was auctioned off in Shenzhen for 128 million RMB to CITIC Shenzhen, which operated the carrier as the CITIC Minsk World military theme park. The ship was painted with the hull number 015, matching the Chinese Navy's first aircraft carrier Liaoning (16). After a decline in visitor numbers, the park closed in 2016 when the local government decided to reclaim land in the area. The aircraft carrier was moved to Zhoushan for repairs, after which it will be moved to another theme park in Nantong,

Facilities

In addition to the island, four of the carrier's decks including the

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...

and

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

deck were able to be visited. Various aspects of the ''Minsk'', such as its living quarters and armament, were set up as exhibits. The staff were dressed in mock military uniforms, while regular choreographed musical performances were held on the flight and hangar decks. It was also possible to take a quick ride around the starboard side of the ''Minsk'' via

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

. In 2006, Chinese filmmaker Cheng Xiaoxing made a documentary about "Minsk World", broadcast on

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

TV.

Static display

There were a number of military aircraft and armaments on display on the deck and on the mainland area: *

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...

* Mi-24 *

Mikoyan MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 (russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India ...

Yakovlev Yak-38 The Yakovlev Yak-38 (russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was the Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It ...

SA-N-3 The M-11 Shtorm (russian: М-11 «Шторм»; en, Storm) is a Russian naval surface-to-air missile system. Its GRAU designation is 4K60. Its NATO reporting name is SA-N-3 Goblet. The system was first installed on , an anti-submarine warfare ...

53-65 torpedo Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm (21 inch) torpedoes manufactured in Russia, starting with the 53-27 torpedo and continuing to the modern UGST (Fizik-1), which is being replaced by the Futlyar. With the exception of the UGST ...

AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and dir ...

Gallery

File:Minsk World01 20120916.JPG, ''Minsk'' File:Minsk carrier flight deck 3.JPG, ''Minsk'' carrier flight deck File:Minsk hangar deck 1.JPG, ''Minsk'' hangar deck File:Minsk from shore 3.JPG, ''Minsk'' from shore

References

External links