Having grown up in Beaumont, and having lived on the island for several years, this is like China is taking over the part of Texas where I spent my youth.
All of this info about this Chinese deal taking over the ports is making me very sad. I know nothing stays the same forever, but to me, this seems worse than any hurricane to hit the island.
ORLANDO[The park is now closed. A general auction that began on Thursday, December 9th, 2004, saw the selling off of all park assets.] Florida Splendid China, a $100 Million theme park which opened in 1993 on 76 acres just West of the main entrance to Walt Disney World, brought to visitors the beauty and landmarks of China in miniature form. Accurate scale models of some of that China's most interesting architectural and cultural sites, peopled with a motionless ceramic population, were scattered along the park's curving and well landscaped (if not particularly shady) paths.
The miniatures included replicas of The Great Wall of China (this version was half of a mile long and built brick by brick), The Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi'an, The Leshan Grand Buddha Statue (in 1/8th scale), The Forbidden City (including a miniature Emperor's wedding procession), Potala Palace (the spiritual center of Tibet and traditional seat of the Dalai Lama) and more than 50 others representing the diversity of cultures within the region……”
HOUSTON: Forbidden Gardens – Closed --- For a time, America had two miniature China attractions, neither of them near a Chinatown: the notorious Chinese government-run Splendid China in Florida (now closed), and the relatively unknown Forbidden Gardens in Texas. The latter invites tourists to "Discover the mysteries of Imperial China," but the world's oldest civilization has proved no match for the blistering sun and hothouse humidity of south Texas. Still, we recommend visiting F.G., a unique sight for Texas (or anywhere)....
Forbidden Gardens was built in 1997 at the pleasure of Ira P. H. Poon, AKA "Mr. Poon," a Hong Kong real estate mogul who wanted people of Asian descent (including his teenage children) to know something of Asian culture besides firecrackers and kung-fu. Mr. Poon lives in Seattle, but preferred constructing the sprawling exhibit somewhere outdoors, open year-round, on flat, cheap land, where there was a large Asian population. Houston, 25 miles east of Forbidden Gardens, has the third highest in the nation…..”
Just keep them off Bolivar...