(250116) -- BEIJING, Jan. 16, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 15, 2025 shows the cruise ship Adora Flora City under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, east China. China on Wednesday completed the construction of the main structure for its second homegrown large cruise ship in Shanghai.
The construction of the structure for the ship, Adora Flora City, took less than nine months -- over two months faster than the first ship, Adora Magic City, and this timeline is on par with the manufacturing processes of Europe's leading large cruise shipbuilders, according to Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., manufacturer of the cruise ship.
The next phase will focus on interior decoration, equipment installation, and system commissioning.
The deadweight tonnage of Adora Flora City is 141,900 tonnes, 6,400 tonnes more than that of Adora Magic City. Its total length has increased by 17.4 meters, reaching 341 meters, and the number of cabins has risen by 19 to a total of 2,144.
The ship can accommodate 5,232 passengers when fully loaded and features a 16-story upper structure, equipped with more entertaining facilities. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
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A drone photo taken on Sept. 1, 2026 shows a view of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)
Located at the Changxing Island Economic Zone of Dalian City, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park launched its “Ocean Factory,” a green shipbuilding base, in early 2023. Its “Future Factory” was put into operation in early 2025, specializing in the manufacturing of high-value-added green vessels ranging from ultra-large oil tankers and ultra-large liquefied gas carriers to ultra-large container ships, alongside high-end marine engineering equipment.
At the industrial park, cutting-edge technologies such as welding robots, automated cutting, and dynamic automatic steel-plate marking are extensively deployed across the site. Numerous industrial data collection terminals have been installed throughout dry docks, workshops, and quays. Leveraging advanced technologies such as industrial data acquisition, IoT sensing and on-site 5G private networks, the entire factory has realized digital capture of production-related factors as well as refined operational management.
Workers are busy at the engine assembly workshop of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Sept. 29, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)This photo taken on Sept. 29, 2026 shows the engine assembly workshop of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)A drone photo taken on Sept. 1, 2026 shows vessels moored along the quay at the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)A drone photo taken on Sept. 1, 2026 shows a view of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)A drone photo taken on July 22, 2026 shows completed vessels at the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)This photo taken on Sept. 29, 2026 shows two oil tankers moored at an outfitting quay of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)Workers are busy at the engine assembly workshop of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Sept. 29, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)This photo taken on Sept. 29, 2026 shows mechanical arms at a workshop of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)Workers build a container ship in a dry dock in the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Sept. 29, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)Workers build a container ship in a dry dock in the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Sept. 29, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)A drone photo taken on June 9, 2026 shows the building berths at the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)A drone photo taken on Aug. 14, 2026 shows a view of the Hengli Heavy Industries industrial park in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance,
a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went
back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016,
working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
