Jumbo Kingdom
Jumbo Kingdom () consists of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant () and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant (), which are renowned tourist attractions in Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter, within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour. Over 30 million visitors have visited Jumbo Kingdom, including Queen Elizabeth II, Tom Cruise, Chow Yun Fat, and Gong Li. There was also a Jumbo Kingdom Manila in Manila Bay, Philippines, but it was closed after 8 years of operation. Jumbo Kingdom is part of Melco International Development Limited, a company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. History. Floating restaurants appeared in the typhoon shelter shortly  after World War II. The Sea Palace Floating Restaurant () was sold and towed to Australia. A second Sea Palace was sold to Stanley Ho and moved to Macau as Macau Palace floating casino operating until 2007 and scrapped. The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant was established in 1952, when Wong Lo-kat purchased a boat, transforming it into a floating restaurant spanning 105 feet in length. The second Tai Pak floating restaurant operated from Castle Peak, now Tuen Mun, and sold off and relocated to Guangxi in the 1980s. On 30 October 1971, a 4-alarm fire occurred at the Jumbo  Floating Restaurant before its opening which left 34 dead and 42 injured. The new Jumbo Floating Restaurant was built at Kowloon Chung Hwa Shipyards in Yau Tong. The Jumbo Kingdom was established in October 1976 by Stanley Ho after four years and over HK$30 million were spent to design and build it. It was originally decorated in the style of an ancient Chinese imperial palace. In 2000, two tugboats brought one of the floating barges (Sea Palace) from the Aberdeen Harbour to the mouth of Manila Bay, and it was rebranded as the "Jumbo Kingdom Manila". Much of the original  ancient Chinese imperial palace style renovation was retained. The Manila restaurant closed in 2008. The Jumbo Kingdom went through a major multimillion-dollar renovation in 2003. On 1 March 2020, the restaurant announced it would be closed until further notice and laid off all staff due to the coronavirus pandemic. Attractions. A traditional Hong Kong-style food area is allocated at 4/F of Jumbo Kingdom, named SO-Kee Coffee Shop (). Fast foods such as sandwiches, hotdogs, noodles, soft drinks, coffee & tea are provided, at lower prices. Popular culture. It is shown in "The Amazing Race 17", Leg 10. It  has also featured on the first season of the Australian version of "The Amazing Race" and some openings of "The Amazing Race Asia". The British miniseries "Noble House" shows the compound being destroyed by a fire. The video game "Sleeping Dogs" features a mission set in a floating restaurant based on the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in a semi-fictionalized version of Hong Kong. The Japanese anime "Mister Ajikko" also had few episodes using Jumbo Floating Restaurant as a scene. However, the floating restaurant appeared in Victoria Harbour in the anime, rather than Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the actual location of the  restaurant. Access. The Jumbo Kingdom can be accessed free of charge, by shuttle boat from Aberdeen Promenade or from Sham Wan pier.