A Titanic effort! Aerial photographs reveal how the £125m Chinese replica of doomed ocean liner built using the ship's original blueprints is taking shape (17 Pics)
The construction of a full-size replica of the Titanic in China is nearing completion as investors continue to plough millions into the project.
New aerial images reveal that the replica of the sunken ocean liner is taking shape after the project began in 2016.
The copy of the luxurious passenger ship, which sank in 1912 killing 1,500 people, will be a part of a grand theme park in Sichuan, south-west China, and is being painstakingly reproduced.
Romandisea, the company which is building the replica ship, had initially planned to introduce a high-tech simulation to let tourists relive the moment when the ship hit the iceberg.
But the investors had to drop the plan after family members of the victims and survivors of the Titanic called the idea 'upsetting'.
The Chinese Titanic will be an exact replica of the original ship, from the size to the decoration to the menu.
Measuring 269.06 metres (882.7 feet) long and 28.19 metres (92.3 feet) wide, the tourist attraction will be placed 10.54 metres (34.6 feet) into the water and docked permanently on the Daying Qi river in Suining city.
The knock-off cruise liner will be located in the Romantic Mediterranean section of the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort.
A spokesperson of the resort said previously that the company is trying to build a wonderland which people around the world could relate to emotionally, according to the tourism authority of Suining.
The spokesperson added that the replica of the 'massive and legendary ship' could provide tourists with 'spiritual satisfaction'. It would also serve as a reminder of how the Titanic passengers helped each other while facing the disaster.
The replica is scheduled to open to members of the public in 2019.
The Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort is set to be one of the most impressive theme parks in China.
Su Shaojun, chief executive of the development company has said: 'In addition to the Titanic, we also have the world's largest man-made beach which visitors can go inside regardless of day or night. 365 days a year, it remains at a constant temperature.
'The man-made space can accommodate four or five thousand tourists. We will have yachts, hot springs and acres of the resort.'
According to Wang Weiling, deputy manager of the ship building process, the site does not have modern shipbuilding capacity. As a result, the workers have had to develop a reasonable construction plan. The ship is made in parts and will be then pieced together.
The 50,000 tonnes of steel cost some £105 million to build. Back in 1912, the original ship cost around £1.5 million to build, the equivalent to about £33 million today.
According to the information released at the launch ceremony of the replicated Titanic project in 2015, guests who wish to visit the copy will have to pay 3,000 Yuan (£315) a night for a cabin, while more expensive rooms will cost around 100,000 Yuan (£11,251).
In addition, there will be ballroom dancing, pool parties, and Las Vegas style entertainment on the ship to transport guests back to 1912.
