Ocean Festival becomes new engine driving Qingdao's economy

Sailing teams from all over the world compete during the 2017 Qingdao International Sailing Week • Ocean Festival. [Photo by Zhou Guanghui/Qingdao Today]

This year's Qingdao International Sailing Week and Ocean Festival has gathered more than 800 sailors and coaches from more than 10 countries and regions.

When not on the water, the visitors have been discussing the development of sailing in the eastern coastal city.

The influx of travelers has turned Sailing Week into an economic boom for Qingdao.

Shen Ting has more.

Compared with previous events, this year's Sailing Week and Ocean Festival has been upgraded to "seven regattas in two sailing camps" from "three regattas in one sailing camp."

As a key part of the festival, the International Elite Sailing Competition for College Students has attracted students from more than 10 universities from China and abroad, including the University of Oxford, Cambridge University, the London Institute of Technology, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Melbourne in Australia.

ALEX Ranall is the leader of Cambridge University sailing team that won the top prize at the International Elite Sailing Competition for College Students.

"We loved our time in Qingdao and we had an amazing time racing at the International Top University Regatta. We came first overall and we're very pleased with our results. We'll definitely be coming back to Qingdao next year and we enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the organizing committee and the other teams at the first annual International Top University Regatta."

The 2008 Qingdao Olympic Regatta helped open the window for Qingdao to outsiders, who have been flocking to the city since then to enjoy the blue coast and explore their passion for sailing.

In the "post-Olympic" era, the rise of Sailing Week and Ocean Festival has increased the reputation and image of Qingdao.

Hu Tao is the board chair of the Zhuhai-based Jiuzhou Navigation Cultural Center.

He has travelled to Qingdao on numerous occasions for sailing events.

"In my eyes, Qingdao has a picturesque landscape and a high level of internationalism. The energies the city has devoted to its sailing events are huge, giving Qingdao a reputation as China's hometown of sailing."

Zhao Fei, a native of Qingdao, used to be a professional sailor.

He has participated into the world's top sailing tournament, the America's Cup Super-yacht Regatta.

He's also taken part in the Ocean Festival in Qingdao for nine consecutive years.

He says unlike other sailing events such as the Cleveland race, the Volvo Ocean Race, the Extreme Sailing Regatta and others, the Qingdao International Sailing Week and Ocean Festival is an event launched by Qingdao citizens themselves, which he says offers a channel of communication for sailing enthusiasts.

"Each year, the variety of events is increasing. In addition to sailing events, sailing camps and cultural exchanges are now popping up, such as Russia's famous yacht, the Pallada, docking at the Olympic Sailing Center in Qingdao. It helps enlarge the local festival, making it bigger in scope."

During their four-day-stay in Qingdao for Sailing Week, sailors on "The Pallada" worked with trainees at an international sailing camp.

Around 600 local citizens also had the chance to go aboard the famous sailing vessel and speak with the sailors.

At the same time, the over 100 Russian's who crew "The Pallada" also immersed themselves into the festive atmosphere of the Qingdao International Sailing Week.

This is the third visit by "The Pallada" to Qingdao.

Ivan Rabin is the head of communications for the Russian Embassy in China.

"On behalf of Russia, not only has The Pallada make a port-of-call in Qingdao, but other sailing vessels from several big cities in Russia have participated in Qingdao's sailing week at their invitation. So we are looking forward to have more chances to participate in all kinds of activities during the festival."

Each festival a city establishes generally tries to include a cultural component.

During Qingdao's Sailing Week this year, the 9th anniversary of the Olympic Games has been commemorated throughout the city.

As part of those events, people who have made contributions to the development of Qingdao's sailing sector through last year have received an award.

A photo contest recording Olympic sailboat racing has seen more than 200 photographs put on display, revived the scenes seen during the Games, and also showing how different nations have been developing sailing.

The photos also detail how sailing has developed in Qingdao in the 9-years since the Olympics.

Throughout the festival, various performances and events have allowed visitors to enjoy both the landscape of Qingdao, as well as the sailing competitions, turning it into a real carnival for everyone involved.

James Raschel from Australia is among those who travelled to Qingdao to take part in the International Sailing Week.

"So fantastic facility! Really, it's a great facility for people to come and see. Yes, you've got world-class venues, so you should be proud of it. We'll come again definitely."

Officials in Qingdao say the festival is helping the city's overall development.

Organizers now say they hope to make more progress in urban development through creating infrastructure which will help promote yachting.

Zang Aimin is with the organizing committee of the Sailing Week.

"This festival will continue. We can learn from the German city of Kiel, which has spent 150 years building its international sailing week. We are going to work hard to give each year's festival a new theme. We want to promote the sport and the culture communication that goes with it, which will certainly boost the fame of the city."

Sailing competitions are continuing in Qingdao beyond International Sailing Week.

This September had seen Qingdao host the Far East Boats event, with the participating yachts racing between Qingdao and South Korea in a long distance rally.

For CRI, I'm Shen Ting.