The first domestically built large cruise ship, Adora Magic City Photo: VCG

China's first domestically built large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, has completed 84 journeys and carried 600,000 inbound/outbound tourists in the first year of its commercial operation, data from Shanghai Customs said, reflecting sustained recovery of China's cruise ship market in 2024.

The ship kicked off its maiden voyage on January 1, and quickly became popular among sightseers. In terms of passenger turnover, the vessel accounted for 40 percent of China's international cruise market in 2024.

The last voyage of 2024 for the ship departed from the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on Sunday, with over 3,000 passengers onboard to start a six-day New Year sightseeing trip.

China's cruise market experienced significant recovery in 2024. In the first six months, a total of 206 voyages were operated by 23 cruise ships, carrying 500,000 passengers, according to media reports.

Royal Caribbean International said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday that after its Spectrum of the Seas was redeployed to Wusongkou International Cruise Port in April, the ship completed a total of 48 voyages in eight months, with over 13,000 international tourists choosing Shanghai as their embarkation point. 

Large cruise ships, often built by European shipyards, are considered one of the "three crown jewels of shipbuilding," with the other two being aircraft carriers and large liquefied natural gas vessels.

The Adora Magic City, 323.6 meters long, boasts a gross tonnage of 135,500 tons which can accommodate 5,246 passengers in 2,125 guest rooms. 

Meanwhile, China's second home-grown large cruise ship is slated for delivery in 2026 and will start international journeys from Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province in 2027. The new ship is larger, weighing 141,900 tons.

The cruise industry has a long industrial chain with extensive international collaboration, and over 1,000 domestic and foreign manufacturers were involved in building Adora Magic City, according to Xinhua News Agency.

China's cruise ship industry is projected to generate 500 billion yuan ($71.3 billion) in output value to the country's economy by 2035, the People's Daily reported in August 2023.