Sailing Club. Provided to China Daily

Yachts at the Qingdao Yinhai marina. Dai Yan / China Daily

Yacht training schools are springing up in the country's major costal cities as more and more people look to enjoy a nautical life.

Images of cruising yachts in movies are still associated with the unattainably luxurious lifestyle of the exceedingly rich by many Chinese mainlanders.

But with a wider range of sailors-to-be now taking professional lessons and obtaining their sailing licenses, private yacht voyages with family and friends are becoming a realistic recreational option for many.

"For this year's summer session of courses, we have the highest number of enrollees so far - 40," says Wang Qiaoyu, with Yinhai Yacht Driving Training School at coastal city Qingdao, Shandong province. "It's double that of previous years."

Located at eastern Qingdao's yacht marina and opened in 2005, the school is among the country's first to train future mariners for noncommercial sailing. Yacht training schools have mushroomed in the country's major costal cities. At present, there are more than 20 schools and 2,000 licensed sailors, says Li Daze, an official in charge of issuing yacht licenses with the China Maritime Safety Administration (CMSA).

"The country's economic development and increasing openness to foreign exchanges have made yachting a more recognizable recreation," he says.