Adora Magic City, the first made-in-China cruise ship, to set sail from Shanghai

State media have touted the ship as a major milestone, evidence the country’s shipbuilders can handle the most challenging of projects, along with aircraft carriers and large liquefied natural gas carriers.

But it’s also a way to ease Chinese into venturing abroad again, while still allowing for food, experiences and surroundings that are intimate and familiar.

Despite steps by authorities to get people flying overseas, such as resuming group tours, appetite for international travel is limited. Morgan Stanley does not expect China’s international air travel to fully recover until 2025, another whole 12 months away at least.

Builder of China’s first home-grown cruise ship confidently chases more orders

Domestic travel, on the other hand, has sprung back with a vengeance, with locals traversing the vast nation to hit up favourite tourist spots like the Great Wall and the spectacular Karst mountains of Guilin.

The Chinese built and designed Adora, which for now will mainly cruise in short hops around Northeast Asia, is seen as one way of bridging the gap.

“Most of our clients are families with the elderly and kids,” said Liu Liu, a sales rep with local travel agency Chang Tu Travel, which has been booking customers on Adora’s inaugural voyage.

“Cruise ships offer them a way to travel to different places and still enjoy recreational activities without worrying about traffic jams and lodging,” she said, adding many people had wanted to book to specifically show their support for a China-made liner.

Bookings for Adora’s first sailing opened in September. According to the ship’s official online store on Tmall, a premium cabin for two runs to about 8,500 yuan (US$1,200) for a trip in early February, when many Chinese will be heading off for the important Lunar New Year holiday. Tickets for January and most of February are sold out.

“Tickets are pretty hard to book,” Liu said, noting that sailings on February 9 and February 14 were particularly popular. While Valentine’s Day isn’t typically a holiday in China, this year it falls over the Lunar New Year, meaning for many young Chinese couples it will be a double celebration.

Further out, Adora Magic City plans to add Southeast Asia routes and possibly a longer-haul ‘Maritime Belt & Road’ route.