If there is one country where many people can afford to superyacht, it’s China. Now the world’s largest economy, some 11,000 Chinese citizens are considered ultra-wealthy, with assets over $30 million, according to wealth intelligence firm, Wealth-X.

    But, the superyacht industry hasn’t caught on big in China.

    Superyachts are officially defined as boats whose hulls at the water line measure longer than 24 meters, or 79 feet. A superyacht — typically a private boat that requires a professional crew to operate — costs $6 million on up. Just 34 –or 0.7 percent — of the world’s 4,836 superyachts are based in China, according to a 2013 study by the Auckland Government.

    In part, the lack of popularity is due to culture. Yachting is all about fun in the sun. And traditionally, many Chinese have avoided the sun and haven’t really done downtime.

    “The Chinese are not used to the idea of time away from it all, especially not European style,” explained Colin Dawson, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Superyacht Association. “They tend to take a very different approach to yacht ownership – it’s a business tool, not a leisure item.”

    Luc Khaldoun is the head of client advisory services at OneOcean Ventures, which provides a range of services for superyacht owners. He noted that his Chinese clients seemed to prefer yachts with “little open space” and wanted to “limit time spent outside.”

    There are also some pragmatic reasons why superyachting hasn’t caught on with the Chinese elite. China has a luxury goods import tax of 43 percent. Adding to the expense: the region lacks experienced crew, so Chinese superyacht owners need to relocate Europeans and obtain work visas for them.

    要说哪个国家有很多富人能买得起超级游艇，那绝对是中国。据财富情报机构Wealth-X公司统计，作为全球最大的经济体之一，中国已经拥有大约1.1万名资产超过3000万美元的“超级富豪”。

    但是，超级游艇业至今没有在中国赚到多少钱。

    根据官方定义，超级游艇指的是那些吃水线长度超过24米的豪华游脡。一般来说，每艘超级游艇都需要由一支专业团队来操作，单艘超级游艇的售价起码在600万美元以上。根据奥克兰市政府在2013年所做的一项调查，全球现有的4836艘超级游艇中，只有34艘在中国，约占总数的0.7%。

    超级游艇在中国遇冷的部分原因是中国的文化。游艇的妙处就在于享受大海和阳光。而传统上，很多中国人都避免晒太阳，而且他们在休息时间也闲不下来。

    亚太超级游艇协会主席科林•道森解释道：“中国人不太习惯于远离尘嚣，尤其是不习惯欧洲的那种休闲方式。如果他们购买游艇，那往往是出于其它动机——对于中国富豪来说，游艇是一种商业工具，而不是休闲物品。”

    卢克•哈勒敦是OneOcean Ventures公司的客户咨询服务总监，这家公司主要向超级游艇买家提供一系列服务。哈勒敦指出，中国客户貌似更加喜欢那种“开放空间小”的超级游艇，而且想“限制在外面停留的时间”。

    超级游艇没有成为中国精英的玩物，或许还有一些更加实际的原因。中国的奢侈品进口税达到了43%。另外中国也缺乏有经验的船员，所以游艇买家需要雇欧洲人给他们开船，这就免不了要为他们办工作签证。这些都会增加购买游艇的成本。

    In recent years, the government also has cracked down on corporate corruption, and some may fear that cruising around on a superyacht and using it to entertain clients (and government officials) might make an exec more visible — and perhaps more of a target.

    And then, there’s just simple geography. Part of the appeal of cruising has been puttering around idyllic Mediterranean archipelagos. While China has a few key marinas like Nansha Marina in Guangzhou and Ocean One International Yacht Club, it still lacks some of the infrastructure to support superyachts, such as repair yards, as well as the Mediterranean’s pretty coastline.

    Of course, none of this has stopped a few ultra-wealthy Chinese from buying, and keeping, yachts — in Europe, the U.S., and even elsewhere in Asia. The superyacht market in China is growing, albeit very slowly. “Chinese looking into superyachts may buy in Europe and elsewhere in Asia,” said Nigel Stuart, managing director of Spirits Yachts, a yacht building company. He noted that Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are “stunning blue water cruising destinations.” European brokers are regulars at the Shanghai, Dalian and Hainan Rendez Vous boat shows, hoping to lure Chinese buyers with the dream of cruising around St. Tropez, Cannes, and Capri.

    While China may not yet be a destination for yachting itself, it is gaining a reputation as a base for yacht-building, primarily because of its lower costs. According to Boat International, China now ranks eighth in the top ten superyacht building nations, and 28 superyachts were constructed there in one year, mainly in Shandong and Guandong, according to the Auckland Government study.

    To be sure, the Chinese yacht construction is small fry compared to Italy’s 269 yachts built last year, but the 43 percent import tax on luxury goods means that domestic construction in China will becoming even more appealing, as long as demand grows.

    此外，中国政府近年来一直在大力整顿企业腐败。一些富豪担心乘坐游艇出行或是请客户或官员出海享乐，可能会将他们暴露在调查人员的视野中。

    另外还有地理问题。对于欧洲人来说，游艇的另一个吸引力就是可以坐着它逛逛地中海的小岛。但在中国，类似于南沙码头和一洋国际游艇俱乐部这样的游艇码头寥寥无几。此外，中国仍然缺少某些支持超级游艇的基础设施，比如修理厂。更不用说也没有像地中海那样美丽的海岸线。

    当然，种种因素也没有能阻止少数中国超级富豪购买和保有游艇的脚步——只不过他们是在欧洲、美国和亚洲其它地区购买的。中国超级游艇市场虽然增速缓慢，但毕竟还是在增长。游艇制造公司Spirits Yachts的常务董事奈杰尔•斯图尔特表示：“想购买超级游艇的中国人可能会在欧洲或亚洲的其它国家购买。”他指出，新加坡、泰国和马来西亚都是“绝佳的航海目的地”。欧洲的游艇经纪人经常参加位于上海、大连和海南的游艇展，希望能够吸引到那些梦想坐着游艇周游圣特鲁佩斯、戛纳和卡普里岛的中国富豪。

    尽管中国本身还不是一个游艇旅游的好去处，但作为游艇生产基地，它已经积累了一定的口碑，特别是更低的制造成本。据《国际舟船》杂志报道，在十大超级游艇生产国中，中国目前排名第8位。另据奥克兰市政府的调查显示，中国目前年产超级游艇28艘，生产基地分别位于山东和广东。

    与意大利去年269艘游艇的产量相比，中国的产量显得微不足道。但43%的奢侈品进口税也意味着中国的国产游艇将更具吸引力——只要需求还在增长。

    Meanwhile, China is not being written off as a market. Most superyacht brokers and builders say they are just biding their time. Some have dipped their toes into the Chinese market by opening a shop in nearby Hong Kong or Singapore, which both have a strong expat population and infrastructure better-suited to yachting.

    UK-based yacht designer Spirit Yachts opened in Hong Kong last year, while London-based Burgess Yachts is opening in Singapore later this year. “We are slowly preparing for when China comes on stream – when it does, it will come big,” said Jonathan Beckett, chief executive of Burgess.

    Many agree that China’s time will come, but just not for the next decade or so. “Is China the new market for superyachts? Not yet – is the answer. North America, Europe, the Gulf and the Middle East are still the markets of today,” said Beckett. Burgess, like many others, is refocusing efforts on traditional markets, and sales are on the up. Last year the ultra high net worth spent a combined $22 billion on yachts, according to data from Wealth-X.

    What the industry must remember is that it took 30 years to build a superyacht market in the West, so it may still catch on in the East.

    与此同时，许多人也没有放弃中国市场。大部分超级游艇经销商和制造商都表示，他们只是在等待时机。有些公司已经开始试水中国市场，比如在香港或新加坡开设商店，这两个地方都有很多中国移民，而且那里的基础设施也更适合游艇。

    英国的游艇设计公司Spirit Yachts去年在香港开设了分公司，伦敦的Burgess Yachts公司也将于今年晚些时候在新加坡开设分号。Burgess Yachts公司CEO乔纳森•贝克特表示：“我们正在慢慢准备中国市场的好转。届时，它将是一个庞大的市场。”

    很多人认同中国时代终将来临，只不过可能还得等上十几年甚至更久。贝克特说：“中国是否是超级游艇的新市场？答案是：至少现在还不是。目前的主要市场仍然是北美、欧洲、海湾地区和中东。”Burgess和许多其他游艇公司正在把主要精力集中在传统市场上，而且销量也正在上升。Wealth-X公司的数据显示，去年全球超级富豪花在游艇上的钱达到了220亿美元。

    游艇行业必须清楚，这个行业花了30年时间才在西方国家形成气候。要让游艇在东方流行起来，也得花上不少时间。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    审校：任文科