China

[Kolomaya]

Hello from China,

I am a Canadian. Love this forum. Finally made an account and want to say hello and thank you for all the great and interesting info. Just curious if anyone else is around china.

Cheers and happy sailing

[skipmac]

Hello Kolomaya and welcome to the forum.

Don't recall many members in China unless you count Hong Kong (guess technically one should) and then maybe a couple. Of course China is such a small place wouldn't expect too many members there.

Are doing any sailing in China or are you inland? I have heard there's a bit of red tape involved and might not be the easiest place for yachting.

[Kolomaya]

Coastal sailing around qingdao is great. There is no cruising community here unfortunately. Red tape, as you said. I will learn more about the details after I purchase my own boat. So far I have heard there is an entry fee of 2500 us dollars and the coast guard is a bit of a nuisance. Speaking Chinese would be very important here so language barrier would be an issue. Hongkong would be totally different but I am uncertain of regulations there.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Kolomaya.

[Safc]

Hi Kolomaya,

I'm currently in Dalian for work. If you're close, we could have a beer. My number is 131 2411 5478.

Don't know about you, but i'm going crazy here. The things you can biy here for a boat are insane! Leds, tools, etc.

Check out this amazing sailing outfit:
https://www.decathlon.com.cn/zh/p/oz...ack/_/R-p-5236

All the best!
Safc

[gabilo]

Welcome from ShenZhen, no cruising in the south of China but some beach activities... at least the Philippines and Thailand/Malaysia are easy and cheap to reach from Hong Kong

[Kolomaya]

In sanya, hainan island they have a world class port with all top notch facilities but most of the berths sit empty unless there is a race being held. I'm in hangzhou so easiest place for me is qingdao or Xiamen. In summer I plan to spend my weekends down there sailing small boats, hopefully get on some racing yachts. See what happens :-)

[AiniA]

Had a chat with one of the managers at the marina in Sanya last year about cruising to and in China. Basically it is impossible and the situation has not improved in the 10 years or so since we considered including China in our route. Some of the problems are:
- you can only stay in marinas. The one is Sanya is gorgeous and not to expensive but all you do is go for day sails.
- no anchoring anywhere
- the US$2500 fee gets you into the first marina; if you want to go to next marina up the coast it is another $2500 and so on as you proceed up or down the coast; in spite of efforts by Chinese sailing interests they view sailboats in the same way as freighters; btw this does not apply to races
- you can only import new boats - something to do with how luxury goods are treated - there is a huge tax on such imports - 50%?; people get around this by registering their boats in another country, Malaysia seems popular, but the boat must leave China for a month each year - works OK if you have a 100 footer with a crew - there was one in Sanya

It is a shame because it would be a wonderful country to cruise. If you want to buy a boat for day sailing (and sleeping onboard in your marina) the Far East range of boats are certainly affordable.

[Kolomaya]

Ya it is a shame , I think lots of people would love it down here. Maybe in 30 years or so.
I am buying in Malaysia and when I return to china I suppose I will just dry dock it. Work for a half year then get back on the water. I wouldn't mind paying the entry fee and docking in sanya as long as the monthly fees weren't bad. :-)

[gabilo]

Originally Posted by Kolomaya

Ya it is a shame , I think lots of people would love it down here. Maybe in 30 years or so.
I am buying in Malaysia and when I return to china I suppose I will just dry dock it. Work for a half year then get back on the water. I wouldn't mind paying the entry fee and docking in sanya as long as the monthly fees weren't bad. :-)

Why bringing her to China at all? Cheaper and certainly easier to keep her in Langkawi or somewhere else in SE Asia... makes no difference price wise if you fly to Sanya or Langkawi... during Chinese New Year Sanya flights will kill you!
Suppose you have a Z-Visa for China, as far as I know you can only arrive to China by Train/Bus/Plane ... on a pleasure craft your Visa is not accepted for long term stay ... hence you need to transit first to HK by plane after docking in China.
Oh, forgot to mention ... do you have a Chinese pleasure craft license?

[Kolomaya]

Thanks for all this information. So, looks like china will not be added onto my destinations list. I am still looking forward to qingdao and possibly getting involved in some races but as for cruising back here... not likely

[SV Spectrum]

Hi sailors,
Hi kolomaya,
Are you still living in China? Any recent changes about entering with a foreign yacht? I am planning to visit china end of 2024, via Taiwan, Xiamen and then up the coast. My final goal is actually Shanghai.
I am looking for any helpful contact (Sailor, marina, sailing school).
Thanks in advance
Gilles

[Adelie]

Welcome to CruisersForum!

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.