There's been a dramatic increase in Asia's cruise tourism market. The Cruise Lines International Association forecasts that the number of peoples taking cruises this year will reach over 3 million. That's a 50 percent increase from 2015. The hot market, not surprisingly, is largely driven by Chinese tourists.

Zhou Zhenghao is planning a trip with his friends to Japan during the coming National Holiday. He's compared the cruise fare to the cost of flying, and finally decided that a holiday at sea was more worth the money.

"The fare is cheaper than flying, and you start your holiday as soon as you get on the ship. There are shows, and the food is included in the fare. It's more relaxed and cheaper than flying," he said.

Data from Ctrip show the number of Chinese tourists taking cruises overseas reached over one million in 2015, and the number has continued to rise this year. On one day this summer, July 5th, 17,000 tourists on five luxury cruise liners departed from Shanghai to Japan, a national record for both departing tourists and departing cruise liners.

"The number of tourists has seen a dramatic increase this year. The passenger capacity this summer has increased by over 50 percent, and the number of tourists booked on cruises more than doubled," said Yin Wenjie, Public Affairs manager of CTRIP.

Shanghai port are also welcoming an increasing number of overseas tourists. In 2015, 344 international cruises arrived in Shanghai, up 27 percent from the previous year. The explosion in China's cruise market seems a win-win situation for both the cruise companies and local governments. There are criticisms, however.

"Most of the liners we have are imported from overseas or belong to foreign companies. Our ship building industry has limited capacity and the problem is how can we shift some of the capacity into building cruise liners. What's more, cruise tourism is a high-end service. The average Chinese spend on a Chinese cruise is some 5,000 yuan, but the international standard is 5,000 British pounds. So the potential profits from the entire industry chain is huge," said He Jianmin, professor of SH University of Finance.

Experts say that potential should also help the development of China's shipbuilding industry. At the moment only 8 new large liners are built anywhere in the world each year. The dramatic increase in the cruise market needs more ships to meet the demand, China is trying hard to step into the gap. The country's first luxury liner is now under construction at Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company and is expected to be finished in 2017.