Minsk is the center of these theme park. Shenzhen Minsk Aircraft Carrier World was officially opened to the public on September 27, 2000. So far, it has attracted millions of tourists home and abroad with great success. By the end of 2002, it had received 3.5 million tourists, with ticket income approaching 400 million yuan. The company that ran the theme park in south China aboard the retired Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk has been declared bankrupt, the official Xinhua News Agency reported March 2005, after bankrupt of D'Long International (which financed the Minsk Park Company).
So whats to go with the ship when the Minsk Company - which looked out for a white knighter - will be closed?
The Minsk, which was very crappy, was overhauled, may be including some military equipment like torpedoe tubes, anti-ship and air defence missiles. The "fun-equipments" like food kiosk could be removed soon. Also these terrible coloured GROUND ATTACK AIRCRAFTs could be removed, replaced by chinese Naval Helicopters like the KA 28, equipped with dipping sonar and sonobouys including ASW variants and search and rescue (SAR) variants. Also Z-8 Naval Helicopter and Z-8A Army Transport Helicopter and Z-9C Naval Helicopter could be fit at these ships .....
and after that you will see a overhauled heavy aviation crusier, which could be used in his primary purpose, if the ship also got new engines.
May be the PLAN could replace the older weapons (like the SS-N-12) by newest generation (like 3M-80E Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile (SS-N-22)), because the plan have reportedly received over 100 3M-80E Moskit missiles from Russia. But thats not necessery to form a powerful military cruiser.
After all - to me it seems the ship only use new engines, and this could be done without problems. So the MINSK (and additional the KIEW) would become the backbone of future chinese CBG ......
