Chinese firm starts building full-sized Titanic replica

BEIJING – Construction on the world's first full-sized Titanic replica has started in China, a country with a well-documented fascination with the tale of the ill-fated ocean liner.

The 300-meter (984-foot) vessel being built by the shipbuilding company Wuchuan Group will be completed at the end of 2018 and will remain permanently docked as a tourist attraction in landlocked Sichuan province. Wuchuan executives told a provincial government website that its liner will faithfully replicate the original Titanic, with a dining hall, theater, luxury first-class cabins and swimming pool.

The original Titanic sank in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. The 1997 film by James Cameron was one of the first foreign films to enter modern China and became a massive hit. The 2012 3D-remake broke box office records in China.