Lao Che

**Lao Che** is a character from *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom* (1984).

## History

Lao Che is a notorious crime-lord and prominent businessman who operated in Shanghai during the 1930s. Lao ran his criminal enterprise along with his three sons, each of whom was born from Che's relationship with a different woman. Lao was an incredibly intelligent and cutthroat individual whose empire included opium dealing, human trafficking, thievery and loan-sharking all run from facades of legitimate businesses.

In the early 1930s, Lao Che became an enemy of archaeologist Indiana Jones and the two had several run-ins. In 1935, Lao hired Indiana to find the urn containing the ashes Nurhachi, the first emperor of the Manchu Dynasty albeit with plans to kill the archaeologist when his usefulness ended. The agreed upon payment with Jones was a large diamond known as the Peacock's Eye which Jones had unsuccessfully searched for in his youth.

When Jones obtained the urn, Lao sent his son Kao Kan to try and steal it and kill Jones only for Jones to defeat him and maim his hand. The gangster and archaeologist met to finish their bargain in Che's establishment Club Obi Wan where Jones managed to successfully obtain the diamond by threatening the life of Lao's girlfriend Willie Scott. However, Lao took the diamond back via poisoning Indy's drink and having him trade the diamond for the antidote, only to withhold the poison.

The deal escalated when Jones' friend Wu Han who posed as a waiter in the club pulled a gun on the crime family for Indy's safety only to be shot by Che's son Chen. What proceeded was a brawl in the club where Indy gained the antidote but lost the Peacock's Eye and ashes of Nurhachi before making a getaway with Willie and his assistant Short Round. Che and his men pursued the three through the streets of Shanghai before Indy attempted to escape on an airplane, not knowing it belonged to *Lao Che's Air-Freight* company.

The pilot of the plane intended on killing the three in a crash only for Indy to make an escape by dropping out of the plane in a life-raft and into the jungles of India.

## Appearances and allusions

### Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar

There are multiple allusions to Lao Che and Club Obi Wan within this bar, being themed to an establishment run by S.E.A. member Jock Lindsey in the town of Disney Springs, Florida. Lao is the namesake for dining items such as Lao Che Peppers and Lao Che's Revenge. The Peacock's Eye is located in the bar's lost & found and Jock has memorabilia from Club Obi Wan along with mentions to having visited the bar in his flight-logs.

Other food items which reference him include *Nang Tao Spicy Popcorn Chicken* (named for the airport used by Lao Che Air-Freight), the Antidote (named for the antidote to the poison which Che drugged Indiana Jones with; additionally the menu description references Club Obi Wan), the Anything Goes drink (an allusion to Chao's former girlfriend Willie Scott), and Chen's BBQ Pork Skewers (named for Lao's son Chen). "Lao Che's Shanghai" is written on a napkin in Jock's flight-log.

## Connections

### Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye

There is a crate addressed to Club Obi Wan in the *Temple of the Forbidden Eye* within this attraction taking place in 1937.

### Jungle Cruise

During the Summer of Hidden Mysteries event, Lao Che's diamond *The Peacock's Eye* and the Nurhachi urn are both among the artifacts lost by Indiana Jones in the jungle and relocated by the Jungle Navigation Company.

## Trivia

* In real-life, Club Obi Wan is named for the *Star Wars* character Obi Wan Kenobi.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/jock-lindseys-hangar-bar-updated-menu-review-and-happy-hour-revisited/
2. ↑ http://www.fromscreentotheme.com/FunFindFridayIndianaJonesDL1.aspx
3. ↑ http://adisneyland.disney.go.com/media/dlr\_v0200/en\_US/special/IndianaJonesExplorerMap.pdf