Minsk World is a military theme park located in Dapeng Bay, Shatoujiao, Shenzhen, China.

Minsk World is unique in that the park grounds are a huge Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk re-designed as a tourist attraction. It is the fifth-largest aircraft carrier in the world. Admission price is RMB120. The theme park opened on May 10, 2000.

A fifth-floor theatre can hold 776 people. The top deck is as large as three football fields. Tour guides dressed in mock-military uniforms educate visitors about two armed helicopters and a MiG-23 fighter plane onboard. Downstairs, a Russian dance group performs folk dances.

The founding company, Minsk World Industries Co. Ltd, defaulted on its loans and went bankrupt in 2006. The ship was placed for auction in May - with no bidders - for United States $16 million. According to the terms of the auction, the owner of the vessel will have to keep the warship running as a theme park for another five years. The investment arm of D'Long Group owns 89.9 percent of Minsk World. Since it opened in September 2000, the park has attracted more than five million visitors and generated 450 million yuan in revenue. It was said to be profitable.

Minsk was laid down in 1972, launched on 30 September 1975, completed on 27 September 1978, and decommissioned on 30 June 1993.

Minsk operated in the Pacific Fleet. She had to be retired as a result of a major accident which could only be repaired at Chernomorksi's facility, located in the newly-independent Ukraine. In 1995 she was sold to a South Korean businessman, and later resold to Shenzhen Minsk Aircraft Carrier Industry Co Ltd, China. Until 2006, when the company went bankrupt, Minsk was part of a military theme park in Shatoujiao, Shenzhen called "Minsk World". The aircraft carrier was put up for auction on 22 March 2006. No bids at the starting price of 128 million RMB (approx. 16 million U.S. dollars) were received, so the carrier was withdrawn from sale. On 31 May 2006, the Soviet aircraft carrier was finally auctioned off in Shenzhen for 128 million RMB.

[Source: Wikipedia]

[Source: Wikipedia]

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