£9m aircraft carrier for sale at theme park
By Richard Spencer in Beijing
(Filed: 18/02/2006)
The financial collapse of a Chinese theme park has left its owners with an unusual piece of surplus equipment - a fully-fitted Russian aircraft carrier.
The Minsk, a 1970s relic of the Soviet Union's Pacific fleet, was until recently the pride and joy of Shenzhen, the boom town near Hong Kong that has become the symbol of China's breakneck economic development.
As well as having some of its torpedoes and MiG-23 fighter aircraft on display, the ship also boasted Chinese guides in Soviet-style military uniforms and a Russian dance troupe.