After four years, following more than 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 newly built flagship ultra-luxury cruise ship "Century Glory," with a construction cost of nearly 300 million yuan, was launched for the first time and held a launching ceremony. It has now entered the interior decoration phase and is expected to2019year7month officially begin its maiden voyage and operations.
It is reported that the interior decoration work engaged top domestic and international cruise design companies for design guidance, inviting the renowned Dutch design firm Studio-L to handle the ship’s interior design.
Once again setting new standards and norms for the construction of river cruise ships in China
This super luxury cruise ship, weighing 15,000 tons and with a passenger capacity of up to650people,is currently the largest in designed passenger capacity, displacement tonnage, technological sophistication, and intelligent level among all cruise ships 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, environmental friendliness, intelligence, comfort, economy, and entertainment, it will comprehensively enhance the ultimate experience of tourists in terms ofdining, accommodation, travel, and leisure.
In particular, with a mission to be a "green ship," it is being constructed strictly in accordance with "green ship" standards, ensuring that all design, installation, testing, operation, personnel management, and control meet "green ship" criteria. It will also apply to the state for the title of "green ship." This will once again set new standards and norms for the construction of river cruise ships in China and lead the future direction of development for China’s inland waterway cruise industry.
As one of the key participants in formulating China’s inland waterway shipbuilding standards and operational regulations, Century Cruises has made an indispensable contribution by providing the wisdom and strength to guide the future direction of China’s inland waterway cruise development. It has led the transformation of Yangtze River tourism from "sightseeing tours" to truly "modern leisure travel," achieving an industry revolution. It currently holds 23 utility patents and 2 invention patents, and has created multiple industry firsts: all-suite river-view balcony cabins; hollowed-out 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 and integrated rudder-propeller technology;China’s only listed cruise companyand more.
Will build multiple additional luxury cruise ships to be deployed across the entire Yangtze River basin
This launch fills the gap of no new luxury cruise ships entering the Yangtze River basin 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 in China," as well asIPOthe leader of China’s inland waterway cruise industry,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
with a mission to promote industry development, from the 660-kilometer Three Gorges Yangtze River tourism toDedicated to advancing the development of the industry, from the 660-kilometer Three Gorges of the Yangtze River 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 promoting all-for-one tourism.
In particular,as the inland river cruise industry in the Yangtze River Delta region had long been in a nascent stage, 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 products in East China’s tourism offerings, setting a benchmark for the development of local tourism economies.
According tosources from Guanda Century Cruises,from 2018 and over the next five years, Guanda Century Cruises plans to build an additional six 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 the high standards and specifications of China’s inland river cruise industry for all-for-one tourism.
At a time when economic pressures are mounting, why is Guanda Century Cruises increasing its investment? A related executive 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 power, and high added value, the cruise industry will undoubtedly secure its place in the economy. “We at Guanda Century Cruises have both the confidence and the capability to drive the development of the cruise industry. Additionally, support from the government for the development of the private sector has given us even greater confidence. For example,the ‘Opinions of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government on Accelerating the Development of All-for-One Tourism’ and announcements made at the Chongqing Tourism Development Conference have clearly outlined the direction for cruise development.”