China plans Bruce Lee amusement park

BEIJING, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- China plans a Bruce Lee martial-arts themed park complete with a rollercoaster that will make his signature screams and grunts.

The Sunday Times of London reports the park will be patrolled by Bruce Lee "mannequin robots," radio-controlled from inside a giant statue of the late film star.

Lee was born in San Francisco and his action movies, such as "Enter the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury" were banned in China, but now government authorities are seeking to cash in on his pop culture legacy. They are promoting Lee as the "father of modern martial arts," a sport that once dismissed the diminutive actor for his unconventional moves and trademark yells.

The theme park will be built at Shunde, a town of canals and bamboo gardens northwest of Hong Kong, the bucolic area that Lee's grandfather left in the late 19th century to begin a new life in the United States.

Lee died suddenly of cerebral edema a month before "Enter the Dragon" opened in 1973 at 32. He was buried in Seattle.