{"id":2876,"date":"2013-03-04T03:56:01","date_gmt":"2013-03-03T19:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdnphoto.com\/blog\/?p=2876"},"modified":"2020-09-23T15:29:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T15:29:11","slug":"counterfeit-paradises-minsk-world-aircraft-carrier-theme-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/2013\/03\/04\/counterfeit-paradises-minsk-world-aircraft-carrier-theme-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Counterfeit Paradises: Minsk World Aircraft Carrier Theme Park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2885\" alt=\"Tourists pose in front of the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military01.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"633\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"paragraph\">\n<p>Chinese <a title=\"China's Nationalist Wave\" href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424127887324640104578160782180728140.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nationalism<\/a> continues to peak with the country&#8217;s emerging status as a world power, even if its military technology remains decades behind other nations. In 2012 the People&#8217;s Liberation Army christened its first aircraft carrier, the <a title=\"China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, anchors at military port in Qingdao\" href=\"http:\/\/indiatoday.intoday.in\/story\/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-the-liaoning-anchors-at-military-port-in-qingdao\/1\/251930.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Liaoning<\/a>, which in actuality is a retrofitted Soviet aircraft carrier, the <a title=\"History of Varyag - Wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Liaoning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Varyag<\/a>. Right now the Liaoning is still years away from being fully operational. It was only recently that a Chinese-manufactured J-15 fighter jet <a title=\"China Navy Aircraft Carrier LiaoNing First Fighter Jet J-15 Land and Takeoff - Youtube\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4C_266Eoa-c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">successfully<\/a> landed on and took off from the aircraft carrier. In open battle the Liaoning\u00a0would be a large, rather useless, sitting target, but symbolically it is still very potent. Such ex-Soviet aircraft carriers also see other uses in China, including the <a title=\"Minsk - Wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Soviet_aircraft_carrier_Minsk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minsk<\/a>, which is now part of the <a title=\"Minsk World Homepage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.szminsk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minsk World<\/a> military theme park near Shenzhen. Here Chinese patrons can wander exhibits extolling the prowess of the People&#8217;s Liberation Army and indulge in other martial fantasies. It is the perfect place to fantasize about China&#8217;s future military potential, especially with all the saber rattling occurring over the <a title=\"Diaoyu Islands - China Digital Times\" href=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/china\/diaoyu-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diaoyu Islands<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military02.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2886\" alt=\"A couple poses for wedding photographs on the deck of the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military02.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"633\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military03.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2887\" alt=\"An attendent walks off the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military03.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military04.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2888\" alt=\"Tourists inspect the deck of the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military04.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military05.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2889\" alt=\"A tourist poses in front of a fake naval backdrop in a hold on the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military05.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2890\" alt=\"An attendent takes a nap in the cafe at the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military06.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military07.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2891\" alt=\"Old military aircraft pepper the deck of the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military07.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military08.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2892\" alt=\"A stage set up on the deck of the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military08.jpg\" width=\"460\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military09.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2893\" alt=\"Highrises stand along the shoreline across from the Minsk World aircraft carrier theme park.\" src=\"http:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/20121009_minsk_world_aircraft_carrier_theme_park_shenzhen_china_military09.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"633\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese nationalism continues to peak with the country&#8217;s emerging status as a world power, even if its military technology remains decades behind other nations. In 2012 the People&#8217;s Liberation Army christened its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which in actuality is a retrofitted Soviet aircraft carrier, the Varyag. Right now the Liaoning is still years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12,1],"tags":[22,79,107,236,269,270,271,290,348,395],"class_list":["post-2876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-counterfeit_paradises_category","category-society_category","category-uncategorized","tag-aircraft-carrier","tag-china","tag-counterfeit-paradises","tag-leisure","tag-military","tag-minsk","tag-minsk-world","tag-navy","tag-shenzhen","tag-theme-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2876"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3161,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876\/revisions\/3161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}