Jumbo Kingdom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jumbo Kingdom |
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Jumbo Kingdom in 2017
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 19 October 1976 |
| Closed | 3 March 2020 (Jumbo Floating Restaurant capsized on 19 June 2022 after leaving Hong Kong) |
| Current owner(s) | Stanley Ho |
| Food type | Cantonese, dim sum, Western |
| Street address | Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, Hong Kong |
| City | Hong Kong |
| Coordinates | 22°14′35.5″N 114°9′43.2″E / 22.243194°N 114.162000°E |
| Seating capacity | 2300 |
| Jumbo Kingdom | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 珍寶王國 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Treasure Kingdom | ||||||||
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| Jumbo Floating Restaurant | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 珍寶海鮮舫 | ||||||||
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| Tai Pak Floating Restaurant | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 太白海鮮舫 | ||||||||
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Jumbo Kingdom (Chinese: 珍寶王國) was a famous floating restaurant complex in Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong. It included the Jumbo Floating Restaurant (Chinese: 珍寶海鮮舫) and the nearby Tai Pak Floating Restaurant (Chinese: 太白海鮮舫). For 44 years, it was a popular tourist spot. Over 30 million people visited Jumbo Kingdom, including famous figures like Queen Elizabeth II and actor Tom Cruise.
Jumbo Kingdom was part of a big company called Melco International Development Limited. It stopped operating in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 14, 2022, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed away from Hong Kong. Sadly, it experienced bad weather and capsized (flipped over) in the South China Sea on June 19, 2022.
The Start of Floating Restaurants
Floating restaurants have a long history. They began as fishing boats in areas like Guangzhou and the Pearl River. These boats had stages for parties, singing, and dancing.
In the 1920s and 1930s, fishermen in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, started their own floating restaurants. At first, they only served food to other fishermen. But soon, they became popular with everyone.
History of Jumbo Kingdom
The Jumbo Kingdom was built by Stanley Ho and opened in October 1976. It cost a lot of money, over HK$30 million, to design and build. The restaurant was decorated to look like an old Chinese imperial palace.
Later, Stanley Ho bought two other floating restaurants, Tai Pak in 1980 and Sea Palace in 1982. He then ran all three under the name Jumbo Kingdom.
Tai Pak Floating Restaurant
The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant started in 1952. Four investors bought a boat and turned it into a restaurant. It was about 105 feet (32 meters) long. Six years later, Tai Pak was made bigger to hold 800 guests.
Tai Pak was smaller than Jumbo. It has been given permission to be stored and might be sold to a new owner. Another Tai Pak restaurant used to operate from Castle Peak (now Tuen Mun). It was sold and moved to Guangxi in the 1980s.
Jumbo Floating Restaurant
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant was built by Wong Lo-kat. It cost HK$14 million and was also designed like an imperial palace. Before it even opened, a fire happened there in October 1971.
New owners, Stanley Ho and Cheng Yu-ting, bought the remaining parts in 1972. After spending HK$30 million more, the restaurant finally opened in 1976.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong was very rich. The Jumbo restaurant was a popular place for business people and tourists. Many people enjoyed meals like crabs, lobster, and roasted suckling pig there. Even if the food wasn't always the best, its amazing Chinese palace look made it a famous symbol of Hong Kong.
The restaurant was even featured in the 1996 comedy film The God of Cookery. A cooking competition in the movie's ending was filmed inside Jumbo.
After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the restaurant sometimes closed. It had a big renovation in 2003, costing millions of dollars. After this, it was 76 meters (249 feet) long and could seat 2,300 diners. It also had a special dragon throne, an aquarium, and a six-story pagoda.
On March 1, 2020, the restaurant announced it would close for a while. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and all staff were laid off.
In November 2020, there was a plan for the Jumbo Floating Restaurant to be given to Ocean Park Hong Kong. This was part of a project to make the south side of Hong Kong Island more lively. However, in March 2021, this plan was put on hold. Other ideas, like moving it to land or turning it into a Bruce Lee museum, also didn't work out.
Jumbo Capsizes in 2022
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The company that owned Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises (ARE), said the restaurant had not made a profit since 2013. It had lost over HK$100 million. On May 30, 2022, the company said the restaurant would leave Hong Kong in June. ARE had tried to donate it, but no one wanted it because of the very high running costs.
Since its operating license was ending and there was no place to dock it, ARE decided to have the restaurant towed out of Hong Kong. They hoped to find a new owner later. On May 31, the kitchen boat of the restaurant started to lean after its hull was damaged. This happened while getting ready to tow the restaurant.
Jumbo Floating Restaurant was finally towed away on June 14. The kitchen boat and Tai Pak were left behind. The Marine Department said it was going to Cambodia, but ARE did not confirm this. The company said the restaurant was checked and approved before it was towed.
On June 18, 2022, while being towed in the South China Sea, the restaurant faced bad weather and started to lean. Despite efforts to save it, it fully capsized the next day. This happened near the Paracel Islands in very deep water.
Some people thought the boat had sunk, but ARE said it had only "capsized," not "sunk." In August, officials in Hainan, China, said the boat had flipped over and was stuck on a reef. In October, there were reports of an operation to try and salvage Jumbo's wreckage.
Many people in Hong Kong were sad about the loss of Jumbo. Lawmakers asked for an investigation into the company that towed the boat. They wanted to know if there was a mistake. The towing company said they did nothing wrong. Some experts said it would have been safer to use a special "semi-submersible" ship to move Jumbo. These ships can carry other vessels on top of them. However, such ships are hard to find and very expensive.
A student named Shiu Ka-heng created a 3D computer model of Jumbo. He used photos of the restaurant's outside to make a model that can be seen with virtual reality goggles. Shiu hopes to save parts of Hong Kong's history this way.
Sea Palace
In 1991, Sea Palace was renamed "Jumbo Palace." After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it was sold for US$800 million. It was then towed to Manila Bay and renamed "Jumbo Kingdom Manila." It kept its old Chinese palace style. The top floor became a large dance floor with a band. It closed in 2008.
In 2011, the boat was given to the government of Shantung province. It was towed to Tsingtao to be part of a new seaside park. The plan was to rebuild it and reopen it in May 2014, mainly for weddings. But as of 2021, the renovations were still not finished.
What Jumbo Kingdom Offered
Jumbo Kingdom had several attractions for visitors:
- Roof Deck: An outdoor dining area on the top deck. It served fine Western food.
- Dragon Court: A fancy Chinese restaurant on the first deck of Jumbo. Its design mixed old Ming Dynasty style with modern Chinese art.
- Shum Wan Pier Garden: An outdoor space used for weddings and parties.
Jumbo Kingdom also had a staff canteen called So-Kee Coffee Shop. It served popular Hong Kong cuisine like noodles and street food. The boat also had a cooking school and rooms for meetings and banquets.
Jumbo in Movies and Games
Jumbo Floating Restaurant was very famous and appeared in many movies and video games:
- It was seen in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
- It also appeared in Jackie Chan's The Protector (1985), The God of Cookery (1996), and Contagion (2011).
- The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant was in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) and Enter the Dragon (1973).
- Jumbo Kingdom was featured in video games like Fatal Fury 2 and Sleeping Dogs.
- It appeared in different episodes of The Amazing Race TV show.
How to Get There
Visitors used to reach Jumbo Kingdom by taking a free shuttle boat. These boats left from Aberdeen Promenade or Sham Wan pier.
Images for kids
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Jumbo Kingdom pier along Aberdeen Promenade
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1st Floor Relief and Badge
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Staircase leading up to top deck
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Transport boat to restaurant
