Noah's Ark (Hong Kong)

Noah's Ark is a tourist attraction located on Ma Wan Island in Hong Kong.[1][2] It is an evangelical Christian theme park centred, according to its own materials, on the themes of nature, art, education and love. The overarching theme of the park is a creationist narrative.[3] It was built by Thomas and Raymond Kwok, Hong Kong real estate developers who own the real estate company Sun Hung Kai.[4]

Noah's Ark beachfront of Tsing Ma Bridge
Main entrance of Noah's Ark, Hong Kong
A side View of Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark under construction.

History

Part of Ma Wan Park, planning of Ma Wan Park began in 1997, after the Government agreed to subsidise the construction by 800 million HKD. The park was part of SHK's plan for developing the Ma Wan area generally, including the nearby Rosedale residential development. Construction began in 2005, with targets for phased openings in 2006 being missed.[5]

The first phase of the park, originally scheduled for opening in 2006, opened in 2007, not including Noah's Ark. This phase included a Nature Park, which is free to visit. The rest of the park was completed in December 2008, with a limited opening in March 2009 and a full opening in May of that year.[6][7][8]

Attractions

The park's centrepiece is the world's first full-size simulation of Noah's Ark. Alighting from the ark are sculptures of 67 life-size pairs of exotic animals, birds and creatures. The ark is, in fact, a multi-storey building where visitors may book a stay in either a hotel or a youth hostel located on the top floor.

Within the park is a nature garden alongside the existing natural landscape, where native trees have been preserved along the terraced paths. The park features amusements designed for young children together with a menagerie of small animals (mostly reptiles) in small display cages. There is also an obstacle course, climbing, and outward bound type courses.

Evangelism

Inside Noah's Ark the main attraction is a multimedia experience, including a 180-degree wide-screen theatre. The multimedia experience begins with an introduction to Judeo-Christian teaching from the time of Moses and features an imagined 'reconstruction' of the Holy of Holies complete with the Ark of the Covenant. There are guides who lead the audience through a series of theatres and galleries designed to convey messages about the challenges that the Earth and humanity are facing today.[9]

The suggested solution to said problems is an acceptance of the Christian God and Biblical teaching. The multimedia experience concludes with a history of the Bible with emphasis on the dissemination of the Bible in China. Elsewhere within the park visitors are likely to come across staff playing the role of the Holy Family being pursued by others dressed as Roman legionaries.

See also

References
  1. "Noah's Ark Brings Fiberglass Tigers, Rainbow to Hong Kong Beach". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  2. Hong Kong Tourism Board
  3. Rory Boland, Noah's Ark Hong Kong Creation Museum, About.com, .
  4. Noah: the Real Story by Larry Stone, WND Books, Washington DC, 2014, p. 128.
  5. "挪亞方舟開幕 3月後或加價". Sina news. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009.
  6. "基督日報(香港) - 香港馬灣公園挪亞方舟首日開放予巿民". www.gospelherald.com.hk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  7. Noah's Ark (And Ma Wan Park), Hong Kong Extras
  8. Noah's Ark
  9. Brief information on Noah’s Ark at Ma Wan

Media related to Noah's Ark Hong Kong at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.