Pearl of the Sea

After eight years of scientific research and five years of design and construction, China broke through technological barriers and industry monopolies, building from scratch a system of more than 1,400 standards for large cruise ships. The world's largest and most complex single electromechanical product, China's first large cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, successfully began commercial service in early 2024, adding another brilliant national calling card to the Maritime Silk Road. From construction and dry-docking to floating, undocking, sea trials, naming, and delivery, teams overcame numerous core technical challenges. The new generation of shipbuilders has taken a firm step toward transforming China from a major shipbuilding nation into a shipbuilding power, achieving a breakthrough from zero in the construction of large cruise ships. Countless shipbuilders have devoted themselves to their duties, pouring their youthful energy into building a maritime power and rejuvenating the nation. China has become the only country in the world to claim all three jewels of the shipbuilding industry: aircraft carriers, large LNG carriers, and large cruise ships, reaching the summit of the world!

He Xin, an electrical engineer, is a technician in the electrical project department for the design and construction of the large cruise ship, and one of the first core technical specialists trained by the project team. Liu Yuanjiang works at the Shanghai Ship Equipment Research Institute, which has long been committed to developing podded propulsion systems with independent intellectual property rights. The two were childhood friends and classmates since primary school, but a misunderstanding during university tore them apart and made them enemies. Yet the construction of the large cruise ship brings them into ever closer contact at work.

He Xin, a Shanghai woman with a complicated background, experiences redemption, glory, and the ups and downs of life, gaining a deeper understanding of Shanghai, the city she calls home. The city and its people, the people and their city...