Xiamen expects to be China's yacht hub

by WhatsOnXiamen.com on 30 Aug 2010 With the reputation of 'Garden on the Sea', Xiamen is accelerating the yacht industry layout and policy promotion from yacht production and sales to yacht life in recent years and has realized the crossover of developing from yacht industry to yacht economy, which makes Xiamen a new and outstanding light spot in Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone.

Pan Shijian, Deputy Mayor of Xiamen City stated that yacht industry in Xiamen has begun to take shape with a promising development prospect. He introduced that yacht industry in Xiamen can date back to the middle of 1980s and developed rapidly after 2000 with the development of coastal economy. In recent years, yacht manufacturing and export trade showed the trend of rapid growth with manufacturing enterprises rising from a few in the last century to more than thirty, eleven among which are of certain scale and brand effects. The output value of yacht industry in Xiamen in 2008 was more than RMB 0.4 billion Yuan and the export volume reached US $36 million.

Currently, Xiamen has become the 'development base for yacht and sailboat industry'. Since 2009, through holding international yacht and sailboat exhibition, establishing international exhibition and sales centre of yachts and sailboats and setting up the first yacht bonded warehouse in China, Xiamen has promoted these powerful measures one after another to accelerate industry layout and policy promotion and strive to develop yacht industry.

The advantageous investment environment and infrastructures have not only attracted yacht manufacturing industries of world-class brand, some supporting traders and yacht clubs also come in succession with more than fifteen traders of relevant supporting products and services settling down in Xiamen, for which municipal government of Xiamen has planned six regions including Maluan Bay, Xinglin Bay, Tong An Bay, Dongkeng Bay, Wuyuan Bay and Xiangshan China Bay. Ranging from yacht manufacturing and sales to marine sports, a relatively complete industry chain featuring division of labour has been perfected day by day with highlighting agglomeration effects.

Pan Shijian said that municipal committee and government of Xiamen have implemented the strategies of balancing urban and rural development as well as accelerating integration between inside and outside the island, which have provided powerful basic guarantee for yacht base construction of inside and outside the island. Xiamen will build up a yacht industrial cluster, promote and integrate yacht manufacturing of western Taiwan straits area, and boost the regionalization and scale of yacht economy development.

The flourishing of yacht industry has not only provided yacht life with excellent facilities but also made the effect of yacht industry on economic development greater. Compared with the northern coastal cities such as Qingdao and Dalian, Xiamen can be said to be blessed in building up 'City of yacht life': with a sea area of more than 390 square kilometers, a coastline of 234 meters, an annual average temperature of 21 degrees, Xiamen is not too cold in winter and not too hot in summer, compounded with an excellent international harbour of natural strait with wide opening, deep water, no freezing, little fog, wind-shielding and little silt, all of which have built up the pattern of 'City on the sea and Sea in the city'. The mountain, sea, island and city have formed a self-contained system of their own, which is quite suitable for vacations and holidays on yacht and sailboat, so it is deemed by the insiders as 'Inherent paradise for breeding yacht life'.

Pan Shijian stated that Xiamen would accelerate the construction of infrastructure in the areas such as Wuyuan Bay, Xiangshan China Bay, Dadeng yacht club and Xiang An Oucuo yacht manufacturing base and Haicang Paitou yacht industrial zone. Currently, the first-stage project of the largest yacht dock in Asia - Xiangshan International Yacht Club of China Bay has been basically completed. It will become a leading power in the development of yacht economy in Xiamen, drive the further development of yacht manufacturing industry in Xiamen, sublimate the essence of Xiamen gradually as a modernized harbour and tourism city, and add a glistening card to tourism in western Taiwan Strait region.

It is reported that the project of 'Xiangshan of China Bay' has introduced the global-leading yacht leisure economy mode for the first time. The total marine area used by the project is about 0.7 million square meters, among which 0.25 million square meters is the reclamation area. Through making full use of natural ecology of coastal zones of Xiamen, the project and the neighboring international exhibition center as well as international conference center bring the best in one another.

On the Boao Forum for the theme of yacht economy held in March this year, chairman of China Communications and Transportation Association Qian Yongchang expressed that yacht will become a flourishing and classy water recreational sport that can be popularized in China in the coming years.

Secretary-general of Xiamen Yacht Industry Association Liu Dianfang pointed out that yacht industry is a large industry of high degree of association that includes many other industries in upper-, middle- and down-stream, which include trade logistics, sports recreation and dock management of yacht apart from the well-known yacht manufacturing. In the foreign countries, generally speaking, yacht economy of US$1 can lead to an earning of US$6 in the relevant industries; besides, it can also provide large number of employment opportunities.

Pan Shijian pointed out, against the background of acceleration of construction of Western Taiwan Strait Economic Zone and with the unceasing expansion of industrial cluster of yacht manufacturing and further perfection of relevant supporting facilities including Xiangshan International Yacht Club of China Bay, yacht economy will become a new engine for economic development of Xiamen City and a new bridge for the foreign communications and promote the better and more rapid development of Western Taiwan Strait Economic Zone.

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