Lifesize Noah's Ark in Hong Kong will buoy recession fears

As the world reflects on how to stay afloat during this worldwide economic recession, three billionaire brothers in Hong Kong have come up with a solution: build a giant Ark.

The Kwok brothers, heirs to a huge property development company, have built a life-size replica of Noah's ark, complete with a luxury hotel, restaurants, a children's museum, and even 67 pairs of fiberglass animals. The boat is moored now on an island in Hong Kong's harbor and awaiting visitors, notwithstanding the fact that many mainland Chinese don't even know the story that it's based on.

The brothers are promoting the ark as a Disneyland-style family vacation destination that will also somehow soothe people's worries about the recession.

From the Wall Street Journal:

"People are experiencing a crisis right now," [said project director Spencer] Lu, waving his hand over fiberglass statues of a pair of bears overlooking the South China Sea. "It's possible that this financial tsunami has come at this time to Hong Kong for a reason. And our message is: The doors of the ark are not closed, they're open, and the animals -- representing new life -- are coming out."

The Kwoks are actually joining a host of international ark-builders. A smaller, farm animal-populated ark floats off the coast of the Netherlands, another is in New Brunswick, Canada, and a third ark was built by Greenpeace on Mount Ararat in Turkey.

However, the Hong Kong ark is distinguished for being the only one built to the specifications of the Bible, which require that it be approximately 450 feet long.

Well... at least Hong Kong's financial resources are being put to good use during this recession...

Photo by Daryl Chapman.