‘Divecube is the only place in central Taiwan to get a diving license, unless you want to go and give it a try in Taichung harbor.’

The News Lens
Date: 017/04/18
By: David Green

The Divecube Hotel in Taichung opened its doors in February and with them the chance to brush up your scuba and freediving skills, as well as have a little fun in an underwater shipwreck while you’re at it. The News Lens sat down with Divecube chief executive Jim Wang to talk about what inspired him to build the hotel, and how he went from being a non-diver to the owner of Asia’s only indoor pool deep enough to earn PADI certifications.

TNL: What’s your background and how did you come around to the idea of building the Divecube?

Wang: My background is in swimming pool management, something I’ve done around Taiwan for about 20 years. I also operated a sports center on the mainland in Zhejiang. I withdrew from the pool business in 2011, about the same time I saw a picture online of the Nemo 33 hotel in Belgium, which also has its own dive pool. I thought the picture was fake – how could anyone build something that deep – and there was very little information about the hotel itself. Then I realized the Nemo 33 pool had a sectional view – where people in the hotel could see into the pool itself and watch people diving. That’s when I thought they’d done something really special.
[INTERVIEW CONTINUES]