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Home » City specials » Qingdao
Sea celebration's splashing start
By Yang Jian |
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH various sailing competitions and military band performances, as well as singing and dancing, the Qingdao International Marine Festival commenced on Saturday despite heavy fog.
Colorful activities themed around marine culture, economy, sports, science and technology and tourism turn the coastal city in east China Shandong Province into a sea of joy every year.
The festival, the only ocean festival in China, was originated in 1999 in the city as an event for water sports athletes, sailors and navy soldiers. It aims to encourage Olympic spirit and to promote coastal tourism and marine culture, said Wang Xiulin, vice chairman of the organizing committee of the festival.
"I come to the festival every year, because it is a platform for us sailing enthusiasts to talk with each other," said Cyril Rouault from France who has lived and worked in Qingdao.
Rouault said the city is romantic and charming with its clean sea and hospitable people.
"Qingdao's sailing sports are impressive, and I can see that the city is making a great effort to develop sailing sports," said Frank, a yacht sailor from the United Kingdom.
The 18-day festival mainly being held at the Olympic Sailing Center will end on August 9. Entrance to the center is 10 yuan (US$1.55).
A Chinese Navy warship, the missile frigate "Wuhu," is docked at the pier of the center and visitors are allowed to board for a quick tour. Sailors stand guard, ready to guide visitors and answer questions. A military band performing in front of the 120-meter-long warship soon helped draw a long line of visitors on the first day of the festival on Saturday.
"It is my first time to see the warship and I am proud of my hometown as a Qingdao resident," said Wu Genlin, a Qingdao citizen who came to the festival with his wife and daughter.
The warship is still on active service near Jiaozhou City in Shandong, said Sun Baodong, a second lieutenant of the vessel. Sun said the weapon system of the ship was among the most advanced in the country even though the ship has been in service for 25 years.
The warship will be open to visitors from 9am to 5pm at the center till the end of the festival.
Heavy fog kept enveloping the city's coast at the weekend, transforming China's Yellow Sea into a fairy tale-like world. However, many activities scheduled to be held in the sea, such as a children's swimming competition, had to be cancelled because of poor visibility.
Local associations and universities have launched several activities to promote ocean protection concepts.
The Qingdao Fishing Association handed out 100,000 young fish at the center on Sunday to let visitors free them into the sea.
"The species is near extinction, because it is a delicious and expensive dish," said Lin Yuan, president of the association. "More than 90 percent of the 100,000 young fish would survive."
Lin said they used the festival to launch the activity to remind fishing enthusiasts to return young fish to the sea to minimize the impact on the life of ocean creatures. He said less than 10 percent of the more than 100,000 fishing enthusiasts in Qingdao currently do so.
More than 10 local colleges and universities held a sampan competition at the center to promote the city's traditional sports event.
"The event is environmentally friendly. We want more people to row the sampan rather than ride in a motorboat," said Ma Cheng, a sampan team leader from a Qingdao university.
The sampan used in the competition is a 6-meter-long boat. Eight people sit in it and row together. Local people used the sampan to fish in the sea a century ago.
The marine festival has attracted more attention from around the world and brought economic benefits to the city while promoting Qingdao's traditional culture and tourism service, said Qiu Yue, director of the Information Office of the Organizing Committee of the festival.
"More than 300 experts from both home and abroad will join the Olympic Sailing City Mayor's Forum and International Sailing Summit to be held during the festival. An international yacht race and a Sino-US beach volleyball competition will also be held," he said.
Nearly a million visitors came to the festival last year and the city saw a 30 percent increase in the catering industry, he said.
Qiu said the goal of the festival is to establish a brand for the city so as to attract more people from around the world.
Qingdao has long been known as the sailing epicenter of China.
The earliest sailing race in the city dates back to 1904, when the German Royal Yacht Club held a sailing competition, the earliest recorded in China.
With the establishment of the Qingdao Sailing Club in 1953, it became the training center for the nation and hosted China's first sailing regatta in 1980.
It hosted the 2008 Olympic sailing competitions at the sailing center.
Colorful activities themed around marine culture, economy, sports, science and technology and tourism turn the coastal city in east China Shandong Province into a sea of joy every year.
The festival, the only ocean festival in China, was originated in 1999 in the city as an event for water sports athletes, sailors and navy soldiers. It aims to encourage Olympic spirit and to promote coastal tourism and marine culture, said Wang Xiulin, vice chairman of the organizing committee of the festival.
"I come to the festival every year, because it is a platform for us sailing enthusiasts to talk with each other," said Cyril Rouault from France who has lived and worked in Qingdao.
Rouault said the city is romantic and charming with its clean sea and hospitable people.
"Qingdao's sailing sports are impressive, and I can see that the city is making a great effort to develop sailing sports," said Frank, a yacht sailor from the United Kingdom.
The 18-day festival mainly being held at the Olympic Sailing Center will end on August 9. Entrance to the center is 10 yuan (US$1.55).
A Chinese Navy warship, the missile frigate "Wuhu," is docked at the pier of the center and visitors are allowed to board for a quick tour. Sailors stand guard, ready to guide visitors and answer questions. A military band performing in front of the 120-meter-long warship soon helped draw a long line of visitors on the first day of the festival on Saturday.
"It is my first time to see the warship and I am proud of my hometown as a Qingdao resident," said Wu Genlin, a Qingdao citizen who came to the festival with his wife and daughter.
The warship is still on active service near Jiaozhou City in Shandong, said Sun Baodong, a second lieutenant of the vessel. Sun said the weapon system of the ship was among the most advanced in the country even though the ship has been in service for 25 years.
The warship will be open to visitors from 9am to 5pm at the center till the end of the festival.
Heavy fog kept enveloping the city's coast at the weekend, transforming China's Yellow Sea into a fairy tale-like world. However, many activities scheduled to be held in the sea, such as a children's swimming competition, had to be cancelled because of poor visibility.
Local associations and universities have launched several activities to promote ocean protection concepts.
The Qingdao Fishing Association handed out 100,000 young fish at the center on Sunday to let visitors free them into the sea.
"The species is near extinction, because it is a delicious and expensive dish," said Lin Yuan, president of the association. "More than 90 percent of the 100,000 young fish would survive."
Lin said they used the festival to launch the activity to remind fishing enthusiasts to return young fish to the sea to minimize the impact on the life of ocean creatures. He said less than 10 percent of the more than 100,000 fishing enthusiasts in Qingdao currently do so.
More than 10 local colleges and universities held a sampan competition at the center to promote the city's traditional sports event.
"The event is environmentally friendly. We want more people to row the sampan rather than ride in a motorboat," said Ma Cheng, a sampan team leader from a Qingdao university.
The sampan used in the competition is a 6-meter-long boat. Eight people sit in it and row together. Local people used the sampan to fish in the sea a century ago.
The marine festival has attracted more attention from around the world and brought economic benefits to the city while promoting Qingdao's traditional culture and tourism service, said Qiu Yue, director of the Information Office of the Organizing Committee of the festival.
"More than 300 experts from both home and abroad will join the Olympic Sailing City Mayor's Forum and International Sailing Summit to be held during the festival. An international yacht race and a Sino-US beach volleyball competition will also be held," he said.
Nearly a million visitors came to the festival last year and the city saw a 30 percent increase in the catering industry, he said.
Qiu said the goal of the festival is to establish a brand for the city so as to attract more people from around the world.
Qingdao has long been known as the sailing epicenter of China.
The earliest sailing race in the city dates back to 1904, when the German Royal Yacht Club held a sailing competition, the earliest recorded in China.
With the establishment of the Qingdao Sailing Club in 1953, it became the training center for the nation and hosted China's first sailing regatta in 1980.
It hosted the 2008 Olympic sailing competitions at the sailing center.
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