Despite repeated assurances from scientists and researchers that the world will not come to an end on December 21, 2012, one Chinese man is not taking any chances. The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that Lu Zhenghai spent ¥1 million (approximately $160,609) of his life savings to build an ark that would help him "escape the impending Mayan apocalypse."
Lu, from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygher Autonomous Region, used his life savings to build himself an ark measuring 21.2 m long, 15.m wide and 5.6 m high, the Daily Mail reported. The doomsday prepper told the newspaper that while it isn't nice to look at, he is "confident it will serve its purpose."
The ultra-prepared man is just the latest in a series of international attempts to find refuge in time for the "impending apocalypse." In France, authorities have been forced to ban access to a sacred mountain in the southwest believed to provide refuge during the apocalypse. The mountain, called Pic de Bugarach, is believed to open up on Dec. 21 to reveal an alien spaceship that will carry nearby humans to safety. French police have also begun monitoring the nearby village of Bugarach.
According to the Guardian, the French government's sect-watchdog, called the Miviludes, is monitoring the small village to prevent "any apocalyptic sect activity, or ritualized suicide by doomsday cults."
Speculation over the end of the Earth has been fueled by misconceptions over the end of the Mayan calendar. According to apocalyptic conspiracies, the Mayans predicted astronomical disasters would destroy the Earth at the end of its thirteenth 349-year cycle on December 21.
The conspiracies have been denied vehemently by NASA and Pope Benedict XVI.
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