The floating palace that became a symbol of Hong Kong

Health · Published 8 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For 44 years, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was a glittering icon of Hong Kong's skyline. From hosting royalty to appearing in James Bond films, this imperial-style marvel survived decades of prosperity before the pandemic and a tragic maritime accident brought its era to a sudden end.

Established in October 1976 by Stanley Ho, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was a massive undertaking, costing over HK$30 million to design and build. Its design mimicked an old Chinese imperial palace, incorporating a dragon throne, an aquarium, and a six-storey pagoda. It became a global landmark, attracting over thirty million visitors, including figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter, and Tom Cruise.

The restaurant's history was marked by both grandeur and tragedy. In October 1971, a four-alarm fire at the site killed 34 people and injured 42, necessitating a rebuild before it finally opened in 1976. During Hong Kong's prosperous decades in the 1980s and 90s, it served as a premier destination for foreign tourists and investors, offering luxury seafood like lobster and roasted suckling pig.

The era of the Jumbo Kingdom came to a close due to the economic pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. After suspending operations on 1 March 2020, the vessel faced mounting maintenance costs and a lack of available berths. In June 2022, while being towed to Cambodia, the restaurant encountered bad weather in the South China Sea and capsized near the Paracel Islands in waters over 1,000 metres deep.

While the restaurant's physical presence has vanished from the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelters, its legacy remains embedded in pop culture, having appeared in films ranging from 'The Man with the Golden Gun' to 'Contagion'. Today, digital efforts like 3D modeling attempt to archive this piece of Hong Kong's maritime heritage.

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