Computer rendering of Nansha Yacht Club
The 270-million-yuan Nansha Yacht Club will open for business next year, announced Eric Fok Kai-shan, the project manager, on June 29. The club is set to become the center of the marine business, leisure, seafarer vacationing and yacht industries. More than 70 berths in the first phase of the club will be put into service ahead of the Asian Games.
Following more than half a year of construction, the 70-old berths and the causeway in the first phase of the project have taken shape. According to Mr Fok, Nansha was a major naval outpost in Chinese history, leaving behind a significant amount of heritage, and as such, the yacht club will continue Nansha's legacy, and the 9,000-square-metre club complex has been designed on the basis of the cannon fort at Nansha. Blending Chinese and Western architectural styles, the yacht club is set to become a hallmark in Nansha's heritage tourism.
The club will eventually have 352 berths on the sea and 120 on the land. The pontoon beside the berths is 4.2 metres wide, from where club members can ride in electric cars to directly access their berths without having to walk to the club or the golf course. "This is the first one of its kind in China," Mr Fok said, "The Nansha Yacht Club is aimed at becoming a host for regional yacht and motorboat competitions." After it opens for business, the yacht club will host an annual exhibition of yachts from around the world.
Moreover, the Yacht Club also plans to build yacht culture. In a bid to increase public interest in yachts and water sports, the club plans to provide navigation training at Nansha schools for young people so that the young generation can have opportunities to try their hands on marine sports at an early age.
