Tag Archives: Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort

Titanic

Titanic News: Titanic Copycats that Have Sunk, Marconi First Radio Broadcast, and Titanic Cake Divides Internet

 

Like the SS Pendleton, it appears the Titanic replicas have sunk too.

The Titanic Copy-Cats That Have Been As Ill-Fated As The Original Ship (Belfast Telegraph, 16 May 2022)

But whatever happened to the two full-size replicas, the projects for which were ‘launched’ years ago in Australia and China? Have they turned out to be as ill-fated as the original ship? The short answer is yes. Reports in Australia suggest that Palmer has got cold feet over his vanity project’s Edwardian-period details and colonial-era elegance which, frankly, are not in keeping with prospective passengers’ modern-day cruise ship expectations. At least work actually started on the ‘other’ full-scale Titanic replica at the Romandisea Seven Star International Culture Tourism Resort and theme park in China’s Sichuan Province. The £150m project itself, however, looks sunk. For ‘Unsinkable’, read ‘unsustainable’. There was an audible gasp in the room, however, when Seven Star boss Su Shaojun revealed that a replica iceberg would also be built, to help ‘simulate’ what was, in 1912, an unparalleled maritime disaster. Needless to say, this didn’t go down particularly well, especially here. Former Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers, whose grandfather had worked on the Titanic, told the Belfast Telegraph the idea was “disgraceful and shameful.” Actor Bernard Hill, who played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 movie and took part in the Hong Kong launch, initially rejected suggestions that the replica iceberg idea was inappropriate but later regretted his involvement in the project.

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This New ‘Titanic’ Expedition Will Take You Down to the Legendary Shipwreck Before It Disappears Entirely (Robb Report, 13 May 2022)

The 2022 Titanic Expedition will start on June 15. There are a limited number of openings for this year’s missions and a spot will set you back $250,000. Aspiring mission specialists can contact OceanGate Expeditions for additional info. Oh, and there’s another expedition slated for next year if you miss out.

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The only picture of the Marconi radio room onboard the Titanic. Harold Bride is seated at his station. Photo was taken by Father Francis Browne, SJ, while aboard Titanic.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Marconi’s First Radio Broadcast Made 125 Years Ago
(BBC, 13 May 2022)

On 13 May 1897, Guglielmo Marconi sent the world’s first radio message across open water, and he did it while visiting a seaside resort in Somerset. Marconi came to Weston-super-Mare looking to experiment with what he called “telegraphy without wires” – known to us now as radio. He was initially interested in contacting ships, but his work led to a communications revolution. It paved the way for the radio and television broadcasts that we take for granted today.

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Child’s ‘Inappropriate’ Birthday Cake Divides The Internet
(Honey Parenting, 13 May 2022)

An internet user took to the popular Mumsnet Talk forum this week to share an image of a child’s birthday cake and ask others if they thought it was inappropriate. The elaborate cake features a model of the Titanic ship split in two and sinking into the blue cake that depicts the North Atlantic Ocean. Nearby are fondant icebergs, as well as a ticket and a boarding pass. On close inspection, it appears the cake is for a child turning five, as the words, “Titanic 5th Birthday Tehl” are written on the ticket, while the name “Tehl” also appears on the boarding pass.

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Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page on 16 April 1912
Source: Belfast Telegraph

Chilling Video Shows What Sinking On The Titanic Would Really Look Like (Newsweek, 12 May 2022)

A haunting video showing what passengers and crew members aboard the Titanic may have experienced as the doomed luxury liner sank has gone viral on TikTok, amassing more than 3 million views. The clip, which appears to be the second part of a series, was shared by @titanichistory1912, a content creator whose account is dedicated to videos about the Titanic. “What the lighting would have really looked like,” read the text over the clip.

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International Ice Patrol: Remembering The Titanic 110 Years Later
(Homeland Security Today, 12 Mar 2022)

This trip also included an additional mission, honoring the lives lost during the Titanic tragedy by participating in a ceremony commemorating the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The crew’s first stop was in Halifax to kick off the multi-mission patrol. They were greeted by the welcoming faces of the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada at the Local Women’s Council house. A sense of melancholy and reverence filled the room as the events of the Titanic were revisited.

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Yes Virginia, Titanic was a real ship that sank in 1912 with over 1,500 people who died.

10 People Who Literally Didn’t Know the Titanic Was A Real Ship
(Twisted Sifter, 6 May 2022)

You know with all the hoopla about Titanic over the years-the books, movies and ongoing debates-it is hard to imagine anyone who does not know it was a real ship. In fact, I bet it was the source of some jokes making fun of people who knew nothing about Titanic. Turns out that many in fact had no idea the film was based on a real historical event. If the posts shown in the article are to be believed (and I have no reason to think not), it shows how fallen history has dropped out of education these days and replaced by other things.

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And just for fun….

Titanic sails away with €4,300 in Kilmallock
(Irish Farmers Journal, 9 May 2022)

Adam Woods reports from the Irish Angus Munster branch sale held in Kilmallock mart, Co Limerick, at the weekend.


Titanic

Happy Monday and Titanic News

Halloween is firmly behind us and November is in front of us. Standard time has returned so its gets darker early and we have longer nights. A traditional time for warm slippers, sweaters, and if you have it, a log fire with hot cider. Not a lot of Titanic news but there are a few items you might find of interest.

Titanic: The Exhibition will be coming to London in February 2022. The exhibition has toured Europe and America  is different from the one down by Premier Exhibitions. “The Exhibition promises a fresh take on the ever-magnetic story of the world’s most famous (and infamous) ocean liner, which sunk in April 1912 on its maiden voyage, en route to New York. Alongside recreations of the ship’s cabins, radio room, and iconic staircase, 200 original objects — including personal letters and keepsakes — combine with an audio guide, for an altogether immersive-looking show (hopefully not quite as immersive as the Titanic episode of Rick and Morty, though).”

Source:

A Titanic Exhibition Is Coming To London – With Replica Interiors Of The Doomed Ship (Londonist, 27 Oct 2021)

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According to AOL News, it appears construction on the Chinese Titanic replica has restarted. Several weeks ago I posted news that construction had apparently stopped some years ago. The reasons were not clear but possibly due to money drying up. The replica would be docked at a theme park and would double as a hotel and a historic attraction. The AOL news notes this:

Drone footage filmed in the county of Daying in Sichuan Province on October 21 shows a 269.06-metre-long and 28.19-metre-wide life-size replica of the RMS Titanic ship replica temporarily dormant on the dock gathering rust. 

Now perhaps they have heard construction is about to begin again, but at the time the footage was made was still dormant. China is suffering through an economic crisis of its own right now, so it is possible that has thrown a monkey-wrench into it. So far I have not found any news articles that indicate or confirm this report. It would not be surprising if the company behind it send out something to news agencies hoping to keep interest alive. Until we see construction, there is not any news to report.


Titanic

Strange Case of Chinese Titanic Replica

It appears the Romandsea Titanic Is Rusting Away
Credit: SPLASH

One of the aftereffects of James Cameron’s Titanic was the desire to recreate the ship today for people to experience. Museums offer ways to see what was like aboard the famous ship, but this was a to take it to a whole new level of being aboard a real replica of that ship. Clive Palmer famously launched his idea to the world and held events with the sophisticated and upscale crowd to get their support (and perhaps to buy tickets down the road). So off to China he went to have it built. A snag got on the way in the form of a dispute between Palmer and the Chinese government over a different problem. Despite hiring some reputable companies to do advance work, the sound of crickets could be heard at the Chinese shipyard. Nothing was being done and the Covid hit shutting everything down anyway. While stories still circulate it will eventually be built, no one is sure exactly when.

 Along the way, a Chinese company decided it would build its own Titanic replica that would be part of a theme park in Sichuan, China. The replica would be housed, anchored really since it would ever pull out to sea), at the Romandsea Seven Star International Culture Tourism Resort. The ship was to be built according to the original specifications and would even allow people to stay overnight as well. One featured attraction that garnered lots of negative press though was a Titanic Sinking Simulator. This would allow people to feel what the ship was like after it hit the iceberg and began sinking. People are attached to Titanic, especially those who are affiliated with Titanic organizations, have relatives that perished or survived, or just are amateur enthusiasts of the Titanic story. And they did not like this idea at all. It got well condemned by them in news reports and television interviews. The Chinese company appeared to have backed down on the idea.

Since then, the reports were that construction was underway and would be ready in a few years. It is now 2021 and instead of being ready for the throngs of tourists, the Global Times (a Chinese owned newspaper with direct ties to its government) ran an article recently that has been gathering rust for seven years. Contracts had been signed and a ceremony was held in 2014 to begin construction. Yet despite reports of something going on, it looks like nothing has been going on for a very long time. And there appears to be no explanation either from the company (Seven Star Energy Investment) or Su Shaojin, the chief executive of the company. Apparently more than 154 million dollars has been invested into the project.

Some news reports speculate that the backlash over the Titanic Sinking Simulator sank the project. That would seem unlikely as they could get around that easy with other activities. It is possible, like Clive Palmer, that company got into its own problems with Chinese government and the project had to be halted. Perhaps some bureaucrat or rules imposed by an agency or Beijing itself put up a barrier preventing the construction. It is obvious something stopped construction and one possible thing was investors were not so keen after all. Perhaps the controversy got to them or the costs of building the replica skyrocketed causing investors to hold back. Whatever it was, it ground construction to a halt for seven years. And there it lingers.

So far it seems the track record of so-called Titanic replicas being built stands at zero. The one and only Titanic still lies at the bottom of the Atlantic. Except for movie replicas, it seems life size versions are still just a dream. Perhaps Clive Palmer or the Chinese company should give Elon Musk a call. If anyone can breathe some life into building one, it might be him.

 Sources:

 RUST BUCKET Full-scale £110m Titanic replica lies rusting in China after outrage over plans to recreate iceberg crash (The Sun, 10 Aug 2021)

Life-size Titanic replica lies in dock for 7 years in rust in Sichuan Province (Global Times, 10 Aug 2021)


Titanic

Chinese Titanic Replica On Schedule

Titanic at Cobh Harbor, 11 April 1912
Public Domain (Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Ireland)

Unlike the Australian tycoon who could not even put a rivet to his dream of a Titanic replica, the Chinese are half done on their own version reports the UK Daily Mail.

The construction of a full-size replica of the Titanic in China is now half complete. Builders are said to be working around the clock on the £105 million tourist attraction in order to finish the project by the end of the year. Six out of the nine decks of the ship are said to have been built.
The copy of the luxurious passenger ship, which sank in 1912 killing 1,500 people, will be a part of a grand theme park in Sichuan, south-west China, and will be painstakingly reproduced.

According to press reports and interviews, the ship will be an exact replica but docked permanently as part of the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort.  And it will also offer people the opportunity to stay aboard and experience what it was like back in 1912. Scrapped from the original plan was the idea of a sinking simulator. It was dropped after it got severely criticized by Titanic groups and descendants of Titanic survivors.

The ship is scheduled to be completed this and open in 2019.

No word if Clive Palmer plans to attend its grand opening.

Source: Building Titanic! £105m full-size replica of the doomed ship is now half complete in China as engineers ‘work around the clock’ on the ‘highly anticipated’ tourist attraction (Daily Mail, 15 Sep 2017)