On 30 October 1971, a big fire accident happened on Jumbo Floating Restaurant
Jumbo Floating Restaurant at Aberdeen Hong Kong was destroyed by a big fire accident on 30 October 1971.
Although the video is in Chinese, you can see how serious the situation was…
Luckily Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho built a new Jumbo.
It opened in 1976, prospered in the 1980s, declined after 2000 and closed in early 2020 under the riot and pandemic.
Its saviour Stanley Ho also passed away in May 2020.
This post is going to retrospect the history of Jumbo Floating Restaurant.
Travelers can still see the closed Jumbo on Deep Bay.
Frank the tour guide’s Hong Kong Island private car tour can still show you Jumbo, other scenery of Aberdeen Fishing Village and nearby Ap Lei Chau Island.
Stanley Ho saved the destroyed Jumbo
There were a lot of floating restaurants at Aberdeen Fishing Village to serve the local fishermen after WWII.
One local herbal tea businessman built the largest floating restaurant in the world and called it Jumbo.
When the Jumbo was under the final decoration for the opening ceremony at Aberdeen Fishing Village, the welding spark caused a big fire accident on 30 October 1971.
The floating restaurant was destroyed.
Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho bought the ownership of the restaurant and he decided to invest 30 million to build a new boat.
The new Jumbo Floating Restaurant eventually opened in October 1976.
The imperial palace-like Jumbo quickly thrived and became the must-go sightseeing point for the Western tourists.
When they could not go to the closed Mainland China easily, Westerners learned a lot about Chinese culture and history at this fake Forbidden City at the south gate of China, British colony Hong Kong.
Jumbo overcame the adversities of 1998 Asian Financial Crisis and 2008 Financial Tsunami.
However, the double hit caused by the riot in 2019 and pandemic in 2020 finally knocked down the hobbling Jumbo.
It ceased operation until further notice on 3 March 2020 before its saviour, Stanley Ho’s death on 26 May 2020!
See Jumbo and other scenery during Frank’s Hong Kong Island private car tour service
Jumbo is still mooring at Aberdeen Fishing Village.
People hope that it can reopen or be preserved, like its counterpart in Macau.
Stanley Ho had floating casino in the Macau in the past.
After its closure in 2007, it has moored at Macau’s Inner Harbor up till today.
Frank the tour guide’s Hong Kong Island private car tour of course can show you Jumbo, other scenery of Aberdeen and nearby Ap Lei Chau Island.
Frank hopes Jumbo can open again in 2021 and he can enjoy big meal with clients there!
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