Nation's shipbuilders ride crest of global success(6)

Jewel in the crown

Delivered on Nov 4, 2023, Adora Magic City, the nation's first domestically built cruise ship, completed its 100th commercial voyage on March 10, marking a new milestone in China's cruise ship development.

The giant liner made its maiden commercial voyage on Jan 1, 2024.

The successful delivery and operation of the vessel meant China joined Italy, France, Germany and Finland as one of only five nations to design and build a cruise ship.

"Building Adora Magic City is a solid step in China's transition from the world's largest shipbuilder into a maritime power," said Wang, director of the design and research institute.

Building a cruise ship is the jewel in the crown of the shipbuilding industry, as the gigantic engineering project directly reflects a nation's scientific and technological level, and manufacturing strengths, Wang said.

A modern "city on the sea", Adora Magic City is a 323.6-meter-long and 37.2-meter-wide cruise ship that contains 107 systems, 55,000 sets of equipment, 25 million components and parts, 4,750 kilometers of cables, 365 km of pipelines and 120 km of air pipes.

"China's leapfrog from a follower to a global leader in just over four decades resulted from a number of factors including the guidance of national strategies, continuous breakthroughs in technological innovation, and in-depth integration with the global market," said Wang.

"Cruise market opportunities, along with green transformation and accelerated digital and intelligent transformation will bring unprecedented development opportunities to China's shipbuilding industry," Wang said.