Hong Kong's Jumbo floating restaurant sinks in South China Sea
30 Jun 2022

The Jumbo Floating restaurant has stood as an iconic landmark for nearly half a century. The three-storey red, green and golden Chinese imperial architecture has sunk beneath the waves of the South China Sea as it was being towed to a yet undisclosed location.
Parent company Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Limited released a statement on Monday noting that the ship encountered "adverse conditions" along the Paracel Islands and that no crew have been injured. The company noted that the restaurant is currently 1000 meters deep in the sea and that this makes any salvaging "difficult".
While most may know the restaurant from scenes of the film, James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun, it has hosted the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter and Tom Cruise.
Although the Cloud-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the once popular attraction, operator Melco International Development noted it hasn't generated much profit since 2013.
At its peak, the 260-foot long restaurant used to receive about 2000 visitors from eight small ferries from around the coastal area. The armada also consisted of a smaller sister restaurant as well as a barge containing seafood tanks.