China comes to Liverpool as ‘Sanya Serenity Coast’ is officially named in the Clipper Race

It’s been a whirlwind 6 days since the fleet of 12 yachts sailed into Albert Dock on Monday with maritime fun for all.

With the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2017/18 just hours away from the official start line, Albert Dock came alive with music, performance and traditional Chinese sweets on Saturday as the Vice Mayor of Sanya, Mr BAO Jian and fellow dignitaries from Sanya, Southern China arrived in the city for a special naming ceremony of the city’s yacht.

Photo Credit: Papino News

Dubbed the ‘Hawaii of China’ Sanya city located on the southern most tip of China’s Hainan Island, enjoys tropical temperatures all year round. The only Chinese destination to be chosen as one of the 52 places to visit by the New York Times this year, Sanya will be the first of two Chinese Host Ports on the Clipper 2017-18 Race route and with stunning bays of white sand and turquoise waters, the 12 Clipper teams taking part in this years event are in for a real treat when the fleet arrives in February 2018.

The Sanya dignitaries enjoyed a scouse welcome on a sunny Saturday evening as the crowds packed into Albert Dock to watch a traditional Chinese dance performance and the official ‘Sanya Serenity Coast’ yacht naming ceremony, while munching on tasty Chinese sweets. Laden down with free gifts including baseball caps and trinket necklaces from Sanya, even the youngest of sailing fans got involved with the festivities.

Earlier this week, our own yacht, Liverpool 2018 received an official naming ceremony with the full crew, Clipper Round the World Race founder, Sir Robin Knox-Johnson and Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson.

With the sun shining into the late evening, the celebration of these two cities coming together through a mutual maritime love, made for a great penultimate day on the dock as Sunday 20th August 2017 marks the official start of the race.

We’ll see you down at Albert Dock from 8am bringing you live updates on all the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2017/18 action, as it happens over on our socials. You can watch on Twitter @TheGuideLpool or Facebook here.

You can find out more about Sanya, China by heading to www. sanya.gov.cn or check out www.clipperroundtheworld.com for crew diaries and updates once the race gets underway.

Show us your Clipper pics from this week! Tweet us @TheGuideLpool or email us info@theguideliverpool.com and we’ll share the best on our socials.

*Featured image credit: Papino News