Wenqing Sun, a Chinese businessman, haven converted from Buddhism to Christianity some years ago, is reportedly set to build a massive life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, believed to cost around $1.2 million.
Marc L’Hoir, who manages Sunset Cemetery in the city, revealed that businessman Wenqing Sun has already built such a life-sized Bible theme park in the city of Shenyang in northern China, and is looking to spread the Gospel message around the world.
“He actually converted from Buddhism to Christianity and this is just part of his spreading the word of Christianity throughout the world,” L’Hoir said, according to CBC News.
The cemetery south of Moose Jaw has already been approved as the site where the new theme park will be built, with L’Hoir sharing that the “one-of-a-kind tourist attraction” will bring people from across the world for a visit.
“You know how many people go to Vatican City? How many people go to Jerusalem to the Wailing Wall? So once the word gets out and we start marketing it, I think it’ll be a real tourist attraction for Moose Jaw,” he added. “Plus it’s going to enhance the cemetery,” L’Hoir said. “Hopefully people want to be buried there.”
Mike Wirges, who is the Rural Municipality of Moose Jaw administrator, noted that the theme park, which will feature an Ark 136 meters long, 23 meters wide and 13 meters high, will not be a theme park in the conventional sense.
“It’s not by any means anything you would attribute to a theme park, like rollercoasters or anything like that. It’s just a passive park that people would essentially walk through,” he said.
National Post reported that the biblical project will take over four years to be completed and will cost about $1.2 million. Workers from China are expected to be brought in for the construction.
Also, “The Ark Encounter,” led by Creation Museum CEO and President Ken Ham, opened up to much media attention on July 7 in Kentucky. It was a bigger project than the previous. A crowd of 7,000 witnessed the official ribbon cutting ceremony.