Construction of China's largest yacht dock started on Sunday in the eastern city of Xiamen. It was expected to host 600 berths upon completion next year, its operator said.

The Xiangshan International Yacht Club is under construction on 250,000square meters of reclaimed seashore and will cost 3.5 billion yuan (511 million U.S. dollars) to build.

"The dock is scheduled to be operational in September next year, and the building of affiliated hotel accommodations, office buildings and a beach-side commercial street will be competed by 2011," said club chairman Fang Dongluo.

The Xiangshan dock has planned 158 villa yacht berths for VIP club members, as well as a training area and a yacht repair shop.

The yachting economy is booming in China as leisure cruises become trendy. Currently, there are about 300 yacht manufacturers and 60 yacht clubs in the country.

A few rich people in China's mainland were reported to own luxury yachts, but many who couldn't afford a vessel of their own joined clubs in order to sail. In the main commercial center of Shanghai, more than 100 people had already obtained yacht licenses.

Shanghai's annual International Yacht Show has also become the largest event of its kind in Asia. At the April show, a boat factory based in the eastern Zhejiang Province offered a sail boat for 120,000 yuan, about the same price as an ordinary family car.

Zhao Qiwei, the National Tourist Administration director, inspected the dock construction site on Saturday. He expressed his hope the high-end yacht dock would draw more international magnates to invest in Xiamen.

The Fujian Province coastal city has become a popular port for international luxury cruise liners, such as Superstar Virgo, which became the first luxury vessel to take tourists from China's mainland directly to international waters in May.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)