Xiamen Marine Yacht Industry Development Forum aims to open region

by Jeni Bone on 28 Feb 2010 Focusing on opening up marine development opportunities in this region of China, Xiamen Marine Yacht Industry Development Forum will be held at Wuyuan Bay Yacht Dock in Xiamen, 1-3 April 2010.

The Xiamen Marine Yacht Industry Development Forum 'will focus on promoting the advantage of Xiamen’s marine environment and yacht Industry, attracting more yacht companies from China and abroad to settle in Xiamen, so as to expand the visibility and influence of Xiamen’s yacht Industry'.

The organizing committee said it would invite several large yacht manufacturers and agencies, yacht clubs and relevant international associations to participate in the forum.

During the 3-day-forum, there will be related activities in addition to the forum, such as an art exhibition, opening ceremony of Wuyuan Bay Yacht Bonded Warehouse, and yacht trials.

Xiamen also known as Amoy, is a coastal city in southeastern China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city under Fujian province in the People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou to the south.

Xiamen and the surrounding countryside are famous for being an ancestral home to overseas Chinese. It became one of China's earliest Special Economic Zones in the 1980s. It covers an area of 1 565 km² with a total population of 2.5 million. It was recently named China's second 'most suitable city for living'.

Xiamen has two major marina projects on the go. Once completed, Xiamen will become one of the biggest marina centres in China, and home to yachts and leisure boats.

Construction of China's largest yacht dock started in September last year. It was expected to host 600 berths upon completion mid 2010, its operator said.

The Xiangshan International Yacht Club is under construction on 250,000 square meters of reclaimed seashore and will cost 3.5 billion yuan (511 million US dollars) to build.

'The dock is scheduled to be operational in September 2010, and the building of affiliated hotel accommodations, office buildings and a beach-side commercial street will be competed by 2011,' said club chairman Fang Dongluo.

The Xiangshan dock has planned 158 villa yacht berths for VIP club members, as well as a training area and a yacht repair shop.

The yachting economy is booming in China as leisure cruises become fashionable. Currently, there are about 300 yacht manufacturers and 60 yacht clubs in the country.

Among the affluent on China's mainland, luxury yacht ownership is becoming more popular, but many who can't afford a vessel of their own or want to enter the passtime without investing in a boat, join clubs in order to sail. In the main commercial center of Shanghai, more than 100 people have already obtained yacht licenses.

Shanghai's annual International Yacht Show has also become the largest event of its kind in Asia. At the April show, a boat factory based in the eastern Zhejiang Province offered a sail boat for 120,000 yuan, about the same price as an ordinary family car.

Zhao Qiwei, the National Tourist Administration director, inspected the dock last last year and expressed his hope the high-end yacht dock would draw more international magnates to invest in Xiamen.

The Fujian Province coastal city has become a popular port for international luxury cruise liners, such as Superstar Virgo, which became the first luxury vessel to take tourists from China's mainland directly to international waters in May 2009.

More info ont the Xiamen Marine Yacht Industry Forum via email wyj@xmmarina.com