Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant, Hong Kong

Jumbo Kingdom, encompassed two renowned attractions within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour, namely the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant. These establishments served as popular tourist destinations situated in the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelters. Over a span of 44 years, Jumbo Kingdom welcomed more than thirty million visitors, including esteemed individuals such as Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter, Tom Cruise, Chow Yun Fat, and Gong Li.

The floating restaurants originated from fishermen's barges in the Guangzhou and Pearl River regions. These barges were equipped with platforms for hosting banquets, singing, and dancing. In the 1920s and 30s, fishermen from Aberdeen in Hong Kong began operating similar barges. Initially, these floating restaurants solely served the fishing community, but gradually expanded their services to cater to the general public.

The Jumbo Floating Restaurant commenced its operations in 1976 and was designed to resemble an imperial palace. Throughout the prosperous 1980s and 90s in Hong Kong, this restaurant attracted numerous investors and foreign tourists. It became a favored destination where diners indulged in delectable dishes like crabs, lobster, and roasted suckling pig.

However, on the 14th of June 2022, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed away from Hong Kong to Cambodia, awaiting a new operator. Unfortunately, while passing through the South China Sea, it encountered severe weather conditions and capsized near the Paracel Islands on the 19th of June 2022.

Now, there are plans to reopen a floating restaurant in Hong Kong in 2024, more than two years after the closure and subsequent capsizing of the renowned Jumbo Floating Restaurant on its journey to Cambodia.