Soaring Over the Water
Having possessed his own yacht, since his visit to the US Mercury Yacht Club at Taihu in Suzhou six years ago, with no idea how to sail then, Jeff Wang now is preparing for sailing on this sunny Sunday morning. It was a Sea Ray sport cruiser that he has chosen which cost him nearly I million Yuan ($146,400). However, it marks the turning point of his life.
Ever since then, Wang spend every weekend at sea with either his family or close friends whenever weather permits. And time slipped by with music, wine, laughter and perhaps the odd anecdote about a recent victory at work.
“Life is a journey and you can only experience the real sense of the journey after you have boating as part of your life,” Wang enthuses.
As a shanghai businessman, Wang is just one of those who develop an interest in sailing and buy a yacht. It seems that they have get rid of the worldwide recession though they have suffered a loss in cash from between 500,000 ($73,500) to 60 million ($8.8 million) Yuan.
It’s reported that Charles Zhang, founder and chairman of China’s leading Web portal, Sohu.com, has paid 63.4 million Yuan for a 22-m Sunseeker boat, and many businessmen in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces are buying entry-level vessels to go sailing.
Yang Xinfa, chairman of the china Boating Industry and Trade Association, says that yachting profile is becoming an event as important as the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo 2010.
In 2007, before the economic recession, millionaires in China jumped from 20.3 percent to 415,000, and ranged the second in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan.
The number of Chinese millionaires is thought to raise another 50 percent – to 620,000 – in two to three years to come. What’s more, China is the third largest consumer of luxury goods in the world, and it, in the prediction of American investment giant Goldman Sachs, would become the first by 2015.
“Hosting the Olympics has propelled the country’s economic and social development,” Yang said during the recent World Ocean Week in Xiamen.
The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center has developed into a yachting club with its facilities – 800 berths, a five-star hotel and a dock for international passenger liners. Yachting would become more and more popular with the yacht safety management and testing that is to come into force on Jan 1, 2009, Yang added.
Yadvinder Rana, regional sales manager for Azimut Yachts, assesses that there is large possibility for sport in China. “Western brands enjoy healthy profit margins in China, even more than in Europe and North America,” he says. “There is no reason China cannot be as big a market as other countries.”
Dating back to ten years ago, there was not a single yacht club in China. But, it has 58 now, among which the largest one has got more than 600 berths. Over 50 wharfs are being built throughout the country. And the Expo 2010 Shanghai will be the sponsor of both the development of the industry’s infrastructure and the construction of five marinas to be finished by 2010.
Besides, 58 cities in 17 provinces are getting ready to construct clubs and marinas, and annual exhibitions are held in more than a dozen cities to spread the news and invite enthusiasts to join in.
Keeping pace with Qingdao in Shandong province, Xiamen in Fuji an province has become the second East China city to establish a yachting industry.
The Hansheng Yacht Building company in Xiamen has started up its marketing over the last year and is expected more domestic customers than ever before, as is said by Xie Qidong in this company.
The majority of Chinese got little about yachts 20 years ago, but boat manufactured in China today wins the fame in the US, France, Italy and Australia. The country exported 1 million boats worth $180 million last year, some of which were sold at the inspiring prices. For instance the Shanghai Double Happiness once sold a 28 m vessel for 190 million Yuan.
As Xie analyzes there are mainly two reasons for it. One is the improvement in the quality of Chinese-made boats. The other is their prices. “They are usually 40 to 50 percent cheaper than their international counterparts who manufacture in developed countries,” he adds.
Yachting is not restricted to the rich, however. “It can develop into a sport for all middle- class Chinese,” Yang says. “An entry-level yacht is as cheap as an automobile.”
And it matters little whether you buy a yacht or not, since to join a club is a popular way to obtain affordable access to the water.
A member of the Longcheer Yacht Club in Shenzhen gains the right of renting yachts and boats on an hourly basis by paying only 130,000 each year. In contrast, boat owners have to pay 390,000 annually, including the rental on a berth, though.
The club now has 500 members, including 60 premier members; mostly IT professionals aged 30-45.
“Owning a yacht can dramatically change your life,” says Longcheer general manager Zhang Yong who does a comparison between the development of yachting in China and that of golf.
“The Chinese were unfamiliar with golf a decade ago and it was considered a luxurious sport for the super rich. But it (golf) has become very popular today,” he says.
However, experts say that apart from the high expense, the further development of yacht is also in need of policies and infrastructure support.
For instance, policies such as the areas of finance and insurance, the opening of water areas and navigation routes, establishment of rescue and environment protection systems, driving license training are still being discussed and finalized.
China’s 18,000 km coastline also means great possibility for water sports.
“China is one of the best countries for the development of yachting but we almost have to start from scratch, compared with western countries,” Yang said.
The US, the world’s largest yacht market, is a perfect example in case, with its 18 million vessels compared with its population of just 300 million.
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