It is not just another addition to the tribe of luxury cruise ships. The Yangtze River Golden No. 1 is the most luxurious inland cruise ship in the world. The ship that was fully booked three weeks before its inauguration set off on its maiden cruise on Sunday. The first lot of tourists is set to board this luxury boat this Saturday, confirmed the ship’s owners Chongqing Transportation & Tourism Investment Group Co.
The Yangtze River Golden No. 1 is designed like a five-star hotel. It has a helipad for VIP guests and for medical emergencies. It has conferencing facilities and sight-seeing elevators. This inland cruise ship is 136 meters long, 17 meters high and can accommodate up to 350 tourists.
But travelling in luxury is never cheap. So a standard room will cost 3,000 yuan ($461) with prices soaring to 36,000 yuan per night for the presidential suite. All this for a four-day trip down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Yichang in Hubei Province. The luxury ship will coast down the famous Three Gorges along the way.
Built by the Chongqing Dongfeng Shipbuilding Corporation, the ship is the first of a fleet of ten luxury cruise ships that the Chongqing Transportation & Tourism Investment Group Co. is looking to pump 2 billion yuan into over the next five years.
Tang Guanjun, head of the Changjiang River Administration of Navigational Affairs, said during the inaugural voyage of the ship that this will mark “a new era for the sector’s economy”. But there is far to go before this Yangtze cruiser can hold its own among the top cruise liners in the world.
Via: China Global Times
