Qingdao, an Olympic Sailing City

Due to its favorable climate and conditions, the city of Qingdao located in Shandong Province was chosen to host the Olympic sailing events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Qingdao is working on building its image as a sailing city. As a host city for the 29th Olympiad, Qingdao has been working hard to improve the ecological environment to do its part to host a "Green Olympics", as well as to build the best sailing facilities in Asia. 

The 2008 Olympic Sailing events were held in Fushan Bay, near Qingdao's cultural and commercial center. The facilities on land occupy an area of 45 hectares. The area includes a training center, Olympic village, athlete center, a boat park, news center, international passenger liner wharf, international conference center, international yachting club, seaside marina, along with many parks and garden areas. A group of 16 International Olympic Committee inspectors upon inspecting the facilities had only good things to say about the site and its design.

A bird's eye view of Qingdao City

In August of 2007, Qingdao hosted the 2007 Qingdao International Regatta, a test event for the upcoming Olympics, and tens of thousands of spectators attended. The event not only tested Qingdao’s Olympic facilities, but also plays an important role in familiarizing the public with the sport.

2008 Qingdao Olympic Sailing Regatta venue

The 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta was held from August 9th through the 21st in Qingdao. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Sailing Regatta was held on August 8th, 2008.

Keep Reading:

• What to see in Qingdao
• Qingdao local lifestyle
• Qingdao cuisine