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Port Qingdao - Olympic sailing regattas 2008

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Port Qingdao

The city Qingdao, which is situated at China’s east coast, has nearly 8 million inhabitants. Being famous as an important spa area and being the third greatest harbor in the world, it served as excellent venue for the sailing competitions at the Olympics 2008.

Considered from the economical perspective, Qingdao began to start developing rapidly shortly after China’s opening to the world. Well known for its production of fish, textiles and electronics, the city was also chosen to serve as headquarters for a former German beer brewery, which in the meantime became a worldwide acting firm.

By serving as venue for the Olympic sailing regattas 2008, Qingdao will surely set forward further high standards. The city intends maintaining its status as China’s centre for sailing sports and yachting even beyond the year 2008. In order to help establishing yachting well before time Qingdao is cooperating with the city Kiel. The city Kiel organizes the Kieler Woche, the greatest regatta event in the world, every year.

The plans laid out for the “Qingdao International Sailing Centre” consisted of numerous buildings on land, the harbor and the regatta fields extending over an area of 450.000 square metres. On the land the Olympic village, a centre for water sports as well as a quayside have been built prior to the Olympics. All buildings were expected to be further used even after the Olympics. The Olympic village for example is intended to be reused later as luxury hotel. The water project includes two new harbors and the stands, as well as other spectacular buildings to be constructed in the sea.

Planning for the Olympic sailing centre began already in 2001, at the time with an ambitious goal: to organize “the best Olympic sailing regatta of all times”. There were open, international invitations for tenders for the complete project, as well as for the projects concerning prevention of pollution of the water and the environment. All of the projects were oriented on ideas of a green Olympiad and therefore environmental protection has always been kept in mind. A bio park has been extended and other popular recreation areas were preserved.