The future of yachting in China – Godfrey Zwygart

August 27, 2026
4:05 am

In a Column for Issue 90 of Yacht Style, Hainan-based Godfrey Zwygart checks China’s aspirations in yachting against the realities.

In recent years, considerable enthusiasm has surrounded the development of yachting in China. Industry reports and forecasts from major intelligence firms are, to put it mildly, excessively optimistic. These projections are frequently founded upon flawed data and a misinterpretation of existing laws and regulations, while systematically overlooking on-the-ground facts and figures.

China possesses 14,500km of coastline and a population of 1.4 billion. It also features an expanding middle class, and the number of billionaires has just surpassed the 1,000 mark. China appears to offer immense potential, but what can we realistically anticipate?

EVOLUTION

The first recreational boats emerged in China in the early 2000s, but yachting truly began to gain traction with the inaugural China Cup in Shenzhen in 2007 and the Summer Olympics in Qingdao in 2008. Thereafter, a surge of new yacht clubs and marinas sprouted across major coastal cities, igniting high hopes for the marine industry and yacht brands.

Yet this excitement soon waned due to several critical factors:

• Some events were tarnished by scandals in 2013.

• Most marinas were originally built as appendages to real estate projects; a lack of planning and professional management led to financial failures.

• The Chinese government’s vigorous anticorruption campaign stifled large yacht sales, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) became wary of ostentatious displays of wealth.

• The pandemic delivered the final, decisive blow.

In the post-Covid era, the Chinese economy has struggled to regain momentum, and consumers are hoarding their assets, restricting spending to essentials only.

ROADBLOCKS

Several additional factors constitute serious obstacles.

Culture: There is a profound absence of maritime culture in China, and very little has been undertaken in terms of education. Likewise, youth sailing instruction remains embryonic, and there are only a handful of sailing events, races and competitions.

Regulations: Navigation in China is still hampered by numerous, stringent limitations and controls. Even in the Greater Bay Area (Pearl River Delta), where navigation between Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai has been opened, very few yachts enjoy this newfound freedom due to the complexity of administrative procedures.

Destinations: Yachting is not merely about sailing in circles; there must be a purpose or destination. Whereas in Greece one can anchor at a different island each day, in China this is scarcely feasible because of the vast distances between ports, difficult access or lack of supporting facilities.

Geography: From north to south, the primary yachting hubs are Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Hainan. However, the north is mostly navigable only in summer; Shanghai has very limited facilities and sits on the Yangtze River.

Zhoushan, near Ningbo, shows promise, being surrounded by numerous islands. Xiamen and Shenzhen are performing reasonably well, and since 2020, Hainan – with the implementation of its Free Trade Port – has been regarded as a pilot zone for the yachting industry.

THE HAINAN CONUNDRUM

Hainan, particularly tropical Sanya, was poised to become a year-round, active yachting hub. The number of vessels increased rapidly (Sanya alone hosts several marinas and approximately 1,500 boats), but the last few years have witnessed a downturn.

Large yacht sales have declined dramatically. The new zero-tariff policy for imported yachts has proven inefficient, as only charter boats benefit from this tax exemption. Charter companies – which mostly operate day charters in three or six-hour slots – have shifted their focus to locally custom-built vessels that better suit charter operations and offer better ROI.

Why have buyers turned away from yachts? Here are several indications:

• High-net-worth individuals (HNWI) strive to maintain a low profile and avoid using flashy yachts to entertain business partners and clients.

• Lack of destinations: Sanya has no access to nearby islands, and many owners have grown weary of sailing in circles or merely dropping anchor in the bay.

• The seabed around Hainan is unsuitable for big-game fishing (some fishing boats now operate as far as the Xisha Islands).

• Sanya is the gateway to the South China Sea; consequently, border controls and navigation restrictions are extremely stringent.

NEWCOMERS

Recently, large corporations have been acquiring stakes in the marine industry: JD’s billionaire founder is investing heavily in his new venture, Sea Expandary; Xpeng has just announced a project to enter yacht manufacturing; and CATL has partnered with Sanlorenzo to produce marine batteries. Will this be sufficient to boost the marine economy in China?

Honestly, I believe we must still wait several more years to witness a market explosion. In the post-Covid period, corporations have refocused on industrial production and economic sustainability. Nothing crucial will ever happen unless tensions with Taiwan and in the South China Sea de-escalate.

GODFREY ZWYGART