Construction of China's 2nd homegrown large cruise ship at full steam

China's shipbuilders are working at full steam to construct the country's second homegrown large cruise ship, Adora Flora City, to ensure its on-time delivery and entry into operation by the end of 2026.

Compared with its predecessor, Adora Magic City, the gross tonnage of the new cruise ship will increase by 6,400 tons, reaching 141,900 tons in total, while its length will increase by 17.4 meters, measuring 341 meters.

The cruise ship will boast 2,144 guest rooms, 19 more than that on Adora Magic City, and be able to accommodate 5,232 guests.

It will also feature a 16-story living and entertainment facility, including performing, dining, drinking, shopping and recreation areas.

Although it represents a significant upscaling over its predecessor, the construction period for Adora Flora City is planned to be reduced by eight months compared to Adora Magic City.

The builders leveraged extensive data gathered during the building of the first cruise ship to create a 3D model, which has significantly improved their work efficiency throughout the project.

"Our construction team has withstood the pressure and addressed challenging technical issues one by one. More than 4,000 people are working on the ship simultaneously, dedicating day and night to turning the impossible into possible," said Wei Shengsheng, deputy director of the Cruise Ship Project Department of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

The supply chain also poses a challenge for the ship's construction. Building a large cruise ship requires a general assembly plant, about 100 subcontractors and about 1,500 supporting companies providing various raw materials, equipment and technical support.

"In the past, only a few shipyards in Europe can build an entire cruise ship, which means the supply chain was basically based in Europe. If all components were imported, the production cycle and cost would be uncontrollable. Therefore, we must establish our own independent and controllable supply chain," said Wang Zhangjian, president of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Marine Design and Research Institute.

As of January 1, 2025, Adora Magic City has been in commercial operation for a full year, carrying over 600,000 domestic and international guests, and completing 84 round-trip voyages from Shanghai to Japan and South Korea.

Adora Flora City is expected to set sail at the Nansha Port in Guangzhou City of south China’s Guangdong Province by the end of 2026. 

Construction of China's 2nd homegrown large cruise ship at full steam

China's National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration on Thursday announced the launch the National Whole Grain Action Plan, a comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing the whole grain industry, encouraging healthy grain consumption, and bolstering food security to a higher standard.

The action plan mainly focuses on the promotion and guidance of whole grain consumption, popularization of whole grain nutrition and health knowledge, improvement of industry standards and quality management and the cultivation of new varieties of whole grain raw materials rich in active substances and excellent edible sensory quality.

"We will implement the whole grain industry upgrade action, guide the production of whole grain food, encourage whole grain food enterprises to transform or build new processing production lines and develop series products, and improve the adaptability of the supply and demand of the whole grain food industry. We will make strides to cultivate a group of leading whole grain food processing enterprises with core competitiveness," said Wang Hong, spokesman of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, at a press conference in Beijing.

Whole grains are grains with complete caryopsis structure after removing inedible parts such as the outer shell, which retains the natural nutrition and active substances in the grains to the maximum extent. Whole grain food is made from whole grains as the main raw material and contains a certain proportion of whole grains.

At present, the proportion of whole grain consumption in China's grain consumption is less than one percent, while the proportion of whole grain consumption in some developed countries has reached 20-35 percent.

"By 2035, people will become significantly more aware of whole grains and the proportion of whole grains in residents' dietary consumption will increase markedly. There will be more abundant and high-quality whole grain products that meet the nutritional and health needs of residents. The supply and consumption of whole grain foods will achieve a dynamic balance," Wang said.

A new whole grain industry development pattern will be formed with a complete chain, reasonable structure, adaptation of supply and demand, and continuous upgrading by 2035, he said.

China unveils plan to boost whole grain production, enhance food security