In the famous seaside city of Qingdao, in east China's Shandong Province, anticipation is in the air. Strolling the city, you'll find the 2008 Beijing Olympic emblem hanging everywhere, along with sailing boat images. At the main square, a big Olympic clock counts down the days until the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Qingdao is no doubt excited with preparations to be the co-host city of the 2008 Games, during which the sailing events will be held there.

"To host the Olympic sailing event is the common dream of 7.2 million Qingdao citizens," said Zang Aimin, vice mayor of the city. "History has endowed Qingdao with this sacred mission and we will go all out to stage an outstanding Olympic sailing regatta in Qingdao to repay the full trust from both the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG)."

The Sailing Committee (Qingdao) of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympia, known as the Sailing Sub-committee of BOCOG, was set up in Qingdao on June 11, 2003.

"The primary responsibility of Sailing Sub-committee is to prepare and conduct the 29th Olympic sailing regatta in 2008 and to host an outstanding Olympic sailing regatta," Zang said.

The first meeting of the Executive Board of the Sailing Sub-committee convened on June 17, 2003, marking the start of Qingdao's preparations for the 2008 Games.

Venue built for residents

The Qingdao International Sailing Marina, the venue for the Olympic sailing event, is being built at the moment. Taking full consideration of how the venue will be used after the Games, the sub-committee organizers promised to leave an environmental-friendly leisure area for Qingdao residents and visitors from home and abroad.

"Actually, we built this marina for all the Qingdao citizens rather than only the Olympic Games," said Li Fengli, deputy secretary general of the sub-committee. "After the Games, it will be used as a leisure and sports centre for all the citizens and also a scenery site for visitors from all over the world."

The careful consideration of what will become of the venue after the Games also allowed Qingdao organizers to secure a healthy flow of investment. All the money used for the entire marina project, which is about 3 billion yuan (US$370.64million), came from marketing alone rather than government investment.

"Since we offered profitable return to all the investors, we get all the construction money from selling the building land," said vice mayor Zang, who is also the executive vice president of the sub-committee.

"Investors could get their money back soon through proper post-Games use of the marina, such as selling the ship parking position to private leisure boat owners. At present, the price for a parking position of a sailing club in Qingdao is 1 million yuan (US$123,548). I believe it will cost more after the 2008 Games."

Located on Fushan Bay in Qingdao, the international marina broke ground on May 25, 2004. The whole area covers the former site of the Beihai Shipyard with the total planned area of 45 hectares. In that area, about 30 hectares is planned for the sailing facilities.

"We moved away from the former shipyard to Huangdao and left the site for the marina, which has much improved the environment of the city," Li said. "We have paid much attention on the environment protection around the venue because we know that we have to respect nature."

During the 2008 Games, the marina will hold 11 sailing events from nine categories in which 11 gold medals will be awarded.

To ensure no damage is done to the surrounding environment, some new technology was brought in.

"In the media centre, which is an important part of the marina, we use the sea water to produce cold and warm (air), which is a technological aspect that we should be proud of," Li said.

He added that the site has the only meteorological data collection ship in the country to help monitor meteorology, such as rain and wind.

In the marina so far, the Olympic Village has been topped off, the concrete part of the media centre and the athletes' centre were completed. The offshore section is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

"It should be a marina that is closest to the downtown area of the city, where we could see the municipal government office building, the shopping mall and other top buildings of the city clearly," Li said.

The International Marina is scheduled to be completed next year and it will hold two test events in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Building up 'Sailing City'

Besides the venue's construction, Qingdao is taking every effort to build up its image as a "Sailing City."

"In history, the sailing boat is the basic living material for Qingdao people," said Li Xiaobin, vice director of sub-committee media and communication department. "After being chosen as the host city of the Olympic sailing events, we are trying to make Qingdao a real 'Sailing City.'"

Spreading awareness about the sport among all the citizens is the first step. After winning the right to host the sailing event in 2001, the organizers staged a series of educational activities.

A sailing competition between the Taiwan Ocean University and China Ocean University was held this July, Li said.

"We also held 'Sailing Camp' with experienced foreign cities to involve about five thousand citizens in the sailing training with professional coaches," Li said.

Together with the Olympic public welfare advertisement covering all the media, the efforts of the organizers paid off gradually as more and more Qingdao citizens today have become interested in sailing.

"The government has made lot of propaganda on sailing and every Qingdao resident is willing to make our contribution to the Olympic Games," said Wang Dabo, a local tour guide. "I believe during the Games, our city will be very beautiful and I'm excited about it."

The Qingdao people also want to promote sailing in other Chinese cities.

A big sail boat, named "Qingdao," will shoulder the task of making the sailing sport popular to people along the south eastern coastline of China.

Rich knowledge and deep interest about the sport will also boost the sailing industry in the city.

"At present, Qingdao has already had tens of sailing clubs and they are all in line with the international standards as well as marketing operation," Li said. "We also have held some clinics for Chinese sailing referees and officials. The participants of these training classes have already faced the tests in the 2005 International Europe Class World Championship held on September 2 in Rizhao, Shandong province."

The next goal for the ambitious Qingdao people is to hold the American Cup Sailing events, which is called the fourth biggest sport events in the world, following the Olympic Games, the Formula One Grand Prix and the Football World Cup.

"We are planning to take in the American Cup for a stopover in Qingdao next October," Li said. "If we succeed, it may greatly raise China's image in sailing sports, which is still a weak point for China's sports at present."

Olympic profits

In return for the hard work of Qingdao people, the Olympic Games will accelerate the development of the city.

Since winning the bid for Olympic sailing in 2001, the GDP of Qingdao rose and infrastructure constructions of the city has sped up as well, according to statistics.

"As analyzed and predicted by social and economic experts, the Olympic sailing will make Qingdao richer, cleaner, more open and more civilized," Zang said. "With the driving force of the Olympics, Qingdao will become the most dynamic, most competitive coastal city in China with the most suitable environment for living."

Source: China Daily