Century Cruises' new flagship, Century Glory, launches to celebrate 40 years of reform and opening-up

After four years and over a thousand days and nights of anticipation, the mighty Yangtze River has once again welcomed its "moment of glory" !

Recently, Century Cruises, a subsidiary of Guanda Holding Group, announced that its new flagship ultra-luxury cruise ship "Century Glory" has been launched for the first time and held a launching ceremony. It has now entered the decoration phase and is expected to2019year7month officially begin its maiden voyage and operations.

It is reported that the interior decoration work has engaged top domestic and international cruise design companies for guidance, inviting the renowned Dutch design firm Studio-L to handle the interior design of the cruise ship.

Once again setting new standards and norms for river cruise construction in China

This 15,000-ton super luxury cruise ship, with a passenger capacity of up to650people,is currently the largest in terms of designed passenger capacity, displacement tonnage, technological sophistication, and intelligent level on the Yangtze River,and can be regarded as the best of its kind in the world’s inland waterways.

The "Century Glory"will systematically address the three traditional challenges of Yangtze River cruises — "vibration," "noise," and "fresh air" — and through its pioneering spirit and initiatives in safety, green technology, intelligence, comfort, economy, and entertainment, it will comprehensively enhance the ultimate experience of tourists in terms ofdining, accommodation, travel, and activities.

In particular, with a mission to be a "green ship," it is being built strictly in accordance with "green ship" standards, ensuring that all design, installation, testing, operation, and personnel management and control meet "green ship" criteria. It will also apply for the "green ship" title from the state. This will once again set new standards and norms for river cruise construction in China and lead the future direction of China's inland waterway cruise development.

As one of the key participants in formulating China’s inland vessel construction standards and operational norms, Century Cruises takes on the responsibility of contributing wisdom and strength to guide the future direction of China’s inland waterway cruise development, leading the tourism industry along the Yangtze River from "sightseeing tours" to a true "modern leisure travel" revolution. It currently holds 23 utility patents and 2 invention patents, and has created multiple industry firsts: all-suite river-view balcony cabins; an atrium-style lobby design; dual sightseeing elevators; the largest cruise cabin area; leading the conceptual design of China’s first Xiamen ocean cruise ship; the only cruise company with patented technology; electric propulsion with integrated rudder and propeller technology;China’s only listed cruise companyamong others.

Will build more luxury cruise ships to be deployed across the entire Yangtze River basin

This launch fills the gap of no new luxury cruise ships being launched on the Yangtze River in the past four years ! Why Century Cruises? This is related to its status as an industry leader.

Asa company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011, hailed as the "first stock of Yangtze River shipping, the first stock of cruises, the first stock of Chongqing tourism enterprises, and the first stock of private tourism enterprises nationwide," as well asIPOthe leader of China’s inland waterway cruises,for many years,Century Cruiseshas maintained industry-leading levels in metrics such as passenger load factor, market share, and average ticket price, having served over 3 million tourists.And

taking it upon itself to promote industry development, from the 660-kilometer Yangtze Three Gorges tourism toCommitted to advancing the development of the industry, from the 660-kilometer Yangtze River Three Gorges tourism to2800Covering a vast area of over 30 kilometers along the Yangtze River, Guanda Century Cruises has taken on the role of a leader in all-for-one tourism development.

In particular,as the inland river cruise industry in the Yangtze River Delta region was previously underdeveloped, Guanda Century Cruises took on the responsibility by deploying its luxury cruise ships downstream along the river to explore the development of the inland river cruise industry in East China and achieve year-round regular operations. This filled the gap of having no scheduled cruise routes in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and no cruise tourism products in East China tourism, providing a model for the development of local tourism economies.

According tosources from Guanda Century Cruises,from 2018 and over the next five years, Guanda Century Cruises will build six more luxury cruise ships to be deployed across the entire Yangtze River basin, creating a flagship fleet of 12 ships under the unified “Century Cruises” brand that represents high standards and specifications in China’s inland river cruise tourism.

At a time when economic downward pressure is becoming more evident, why is Guanda Century Cruises increasing its investment? Relevant officials stated that they are very optimistic about the cruise industry, especially in the current context of high-quality development. As an industry characterized by high quality, strong driving force, and high added value, the cruise industry will certainly secure its place in the economy. “We at Guanda Century Cruises have the confidence and the capability to drive the development of the cruise industry. In addition, support from the government for the development of the private sector has also given us greater confidence. For example,the 'Opinions of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CPC and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government on Accelerating the Development of All-for-One Tourism' and the Chongqing Tourism Development Conference have clearly outlined the direction for the development of cruises.”