The coastal city of Qingdao has taken a significant step towards building its first domestically developed coastal cruise ship, with a key bid out for design review services.
Qingdao Marine Tourism Development Co., Ltd. publicly invited bids for a design review service provider for its “near-sea comprehensive luxury sightseeing large cruise ship (small cruise ship)” project.
The vessel will be 30,000 tons and will have a passenger capacity of 880, according to the tender documents.
The total investment for the project is budgeted at 3.74 billion yuan ($515 million), as outlined in a project sourcing announcement published in January 2026.
The shipyard for construction has not been officially selected. However, industry insiders have indicated that Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (SWS) is the likely candidate for building the vessel, given its extensive experience in building cruise ships, including the Adora Magic City and Adora Flora City.
Detailed public information on the specific ship design remains limited at this stage, with the current tender focused solely on the design review process, which will assess technical plans for compliance, safety, and feasibility. The submission deadline for bids is set for late May 2026.
The project owner, Qingdao Marine Tourism Development Co., Ltd., is a state-owned enterprise directly under the Qingdao Tourism Group, which is a large, comprehensive tourism conglomerate established by the Qingdao municipal government.
