HAIKOU /China/, February 26. /TASS/. The authorities of Sanya city on the southern coast of Hainan island announced the end of the first Hainan International Yacht Design Award. Authors of 13 design projects were awarded prizes.
In total there were nine medals (three gold, three silver and three bronze) and four awards for the finalists. The winners of the three main categories that won gold were Yang Han from the Academy of Art and Design at Tsinghua University (Beijing) with his work Blue Sky Dream (Mass Production Vessel), Xu Xinyue from the Engineering Institute of China International Marine Containers, Xie Ya from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institue (southwest China) with the superyacht Garden, and Wu Hongliei and Zhou Ziyu also from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institue, who presented the design concept "Fringe of Sea and Sky".
Vice Mayor Yin Chenglin stressed that the city will continue to actively develop the yachting industry. According to her, Hainan has successfully created its own brands of leisure boats, with their quality constantly improving. The official noted that the province has established reputable companies and a number of professionals who, considering market requirements and international standards, ensure the dynamic development of local yacht construction.
The contest is organized by the Sanya Municipal Government, with the support of the Sanya city Business District and the Hainan's Department of Transportation and the Department of Information as well as the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. It began on September 30 last year and lasted five months. More than 200 designers from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and several other countries participated in the contest. The prize money totaled 400,000 yuan ($63,000), with categories including best design for series production yachts, the most successful superyacht design and most appropriate design for marine tourism promotion platforms.
Back in 2006 there were only eight yachts in Sanya, by 2013 there were more than 240, and in 2021 there were 945. Dozens of companies specializing in the yachting business, as well as several specialized clubs have settled in the city. According to the official plan, specially equipped marinas will be able to receive more sailing boats and speedboats by 2025, which will annually carry a huge number of tourists. The government has set a key goal: to create a complex of several marinas in Sanya, which will become the "yachting capital of the Asia-Pacific region.