Not quite knowing what to expect we set off in our taxi for the 40 mile journey to the port district of Binhai and the “TEDA aircraft carrier Russian theme park”
As a young boy I can remember building a plastic kit of this impressive 273m long 41,700 tonnes fully loaded ship and was impressed by the number of missiles and radar aerials.
In 1996 after her time in the Russian fleet, Kiev was sold to Binhai Aircraft Theme Park in Tianjin. The concept was developed by world tourism and attraction consultant Leisure Quest International.
In August 2011, Kiev was developed into a luxury hotel after renovations costing £9.6 million.
The whole theme park is built in a Russian style with the “onion dome” roofs and feels quite strange but very interesting.
Being out of the main tourist season the park was very quiet with only a few visitors and a couple of school groups who as always were delighted to see us!
It was great to actually be part of a childhood memory and felt very surreal to be here.
After our ship visit we took our seats for a stunt car show featuring the winners of “China’s got talent” , a 7 man team of very skilled drivers.
After the show we spotted a guy holding a sign offering rides and Diane was quickly down at the front and well up for it, eagerly chatting to the driver whilst I sorted out the payment.
Round and round she drifted with tyres screeching until finally coming to a halt after a memorable time, which she said was a great thrill.
And so back to Tianjin we went after a great day in a place that felt very odd, a park in China that looked and felt very strange but left us with great holiday memories.
See you all tomorrow!
TTFN
Bibbley
Uncle Bob's Scenic Tours 