Setting sail on the Maritime Silk Road

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Traditional Silk Road land tours are also adding cruises to their offerings, such as China International Travel Service's Ancient Silk Road Tour with Yangtze Cruise package.

The 18-day trip takes guests to the ancient route's mostly upcountry destinations of Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi's provincial capital Xi'an and Guangxi's Guilin before putting them aboard a Three Gorges cruise.

The Coconut Princess route is one of seven Silk Road Maritime cruises the Hainan Tourism Development Commission simultaneously announced.

"Hainan is an important Maritime Silk Road link," commission director Lu Zhiyuan said at the opening ceremony.

It seems likely Maritime Silk Road cruises will proliferate along China's coasts this year, because the China National Tourism Administration has declared 2015 the Year of Silk Road Tourism.

Asian locations remain the principal destinations for outbound Chinese.

Cruises are gaining popularity in China. Industry insiders expect more than 1 million Chinese will take cruises this year.

Guangxi's deputy governor hailed the Beibu Gulf Star route as a "milestone" in cooperation and connectivity between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.