Capitalism displaces Mao's jet

Hong Kong: Mao Zedong's personal jet was put up for sale because the owner needs room for extra car parking at a shopping centre in the city of Zhuhai where the aircraft is on display, the South China Morning Post said.

Property developer Ridong Group has received about 200 calls from potential buyers for the British-made Trident plane, the Hong Kong newspaper said on Friday, citing Wang Zhilei, general manager at Ridong and a former air force officer.

Complaints from shoppers about lack of parking space at the weekend prompted the sale and the decision was not "difficult", the newspaper cited Wang as saying. He declined to say how much Ridong paid for the plane, adding that "several million" should be an affordable price, the Morning Post reported.

The 46-metre long plane was mainly used by Mao's last wife Jiang Qing and was parked outside the mall in the city in the southern province of Guangdong to attract shoppers, according to the English-language newspaper.

Potential buyers include museums, personal collectors, aviation schools and developers, Wang was cited as saying.