Yachtsmen and yachtswomen compete in the 49 er Class during the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta off the coastal city of Qingdao. Citizens are able to watch the competition from the downtown area.

　　Strong winds blow local stars back on track

　　By Jiao Jiao(China Daily)　

　　QINGDAO: French sailors continued to dominate at the Qingdao International Regatta yesterday, leading in three classes after four days of racing.

　　However, Chinese hopes were raised after a solid day on the water.

　　France's Athens Olympic champion Faustine Merret showed her class by leading RX:S W, her team-mates Ingrid Petitjean and Nadege Dourous overtook a Japanese pair to go top in 470 W, while Emmanuel Dyen and Yann Rocherieux kept ahead on 49er.

　　After a day off due to weak winds, Chinese sailors bounced back after the sluggish second day, taking the lead in the RX:S M and two second places in RX:S W and Yngling.

　　He Feng and Fang Zhennan currently hold the first two places in RX:S M, Chen Peina and Sun Limei are second and third in RS:X W, and the trio of Song Xiaqun, Li Xiaoni and Zheng Chuanshuang placed second in Yngling behind the Netherlands.

　　"We are really happy with our results so far, but we also know that we have been quite lucky. Our ranking is probably 15 or 16, as the European sailors are actually much stronger," admitted Song Xiaqun, "We've got encouragement all the way, and competition is the best way of practicing and learning."

　　China's newly-crowned world champion Xu Lijia improved her standing to 9th overall after round 5 in Laser Radial yesterday, with Britain's Penny Clark taking first place.

　　In other events, Australians Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher in Tornado and Ben Ainslie of Britain in Finn continued to be the men to beat as once again they topped their respective classes.

　　No such luck for Sarah Steyaert of France. She went into the day in first place but a disappointing 27 on Wednesday saw her drop down to fourth overall yesterday.

　　France's Xavier Revil and Christophe Espagnon slipped to second place in Tornado, while countrymen Olivier Backes and Paul Ambroise Sevestre followed in third.

　　Among other leaders in the 11 classes, Greek Evagelos Chemonas retained an impressive overall lead in Laser after round six yesterday.

　　USA's Stuart Mcnay and Graham Biehl took first place in 470 M. Italian Diego Negri and Luigi Viale, the recent 2006 Tornado European Champions, still led the eight-team Star Class competition.

　　Although light winds led to postponement and cancellation of competition on the second and third day, most sailors said it was not a big deal.

　　"I think I am more comfortable sailing in light winds like today, and that is one of the reasons for today's good performance," said He Feng.

　　"Today my racing was not good because of really light wind. I prefer 8 knots, but today it was even less than 4 knots. The insufficient wind is a problem for me, and the currents were very strong and hard to sail as well," said Polish Lukasz Grodzicki, who dropped from first to third in RS:X M.

　　"The wind is nice, and big waves are perfect for racing. The wind is weak but it is ok," said Slovenia's Gasper Vincec, who is in third place in Finn.

　　Eight events will be held today: RS:X W, RS:X M, Laser Radial, Laser, 470 W, Star, Yngling and Tornado.

　　Qingdao Beer Festival - a holiday for all

　　By Ju Chuanjiang(China Daily)　　

　　QINGDAO: The Qingdao International Regatta is now in full swing.

　　But it is not the only thing being celebrated in the beautiful coastal city.

　　The month long Qingdao International Beer Festival is also underway.

　　At Tsingtao Beer City, along the Beer Street of Dengzhou Road, and around the seaside, you can spot people with a Tsingtao beer in their hand.

　　Qingdao citizens are sharing their love for beer, especially Tsingtao Beer, wherever they go.

　　As the host city of the 29th Olympic Sailing Regatta in 2008, Qingdao, in Shandong Province, has not only already embarked on planning and preparatory works, but has also been focusing on recreation and entertainment activities, in a bid to ensure everyone, whether athletes or tourists, have a good time.

　　It is common to see people drinking beer from bottles, straw pipes, steins, and even bowls, but drinking beer from plastic bags is a special habit of Qingdao citizens and is considered one of eight strange phenomena of Qingdao.

　　In summer, after getting off from work, people tend to find a nearby store, turn on the tap of a beer barrel and fill their plastic bags with litres of beer to home.

　　Some people spear a hole in the bag with a finger at a place above the upper line of the beer and use another hand to support the bottom of the bag, so that beer flows out from the hole, and they can drink the beer with their face turned upward.

　　During August, thousands of people get together to enjoy the delights brought about by beer.

　　Now with the sailing regatta at the same time as the beer festival, people are watching the competition with bottles in the hands.

　　Beginning in 1991, the festival has attracted numerous tourists from home and abroad.

　　Last year, Qingdao International Beer Festival was awarded "The IFEA Top Ten Most Influential Holiday Celebrations".

　　This year, the campaign was one of the candidates on the list for the Top Ten International Celebrations.

　　At the opening ceremony of this year's festival, Shandong TV, ETTV from Taiwan and Qingdao TV had live broadcasts. The world famous channel Discovery also broadcast parts of the opening ceremony around the world.

　　People are able to taste more than 40 brands of beer from around the world.

　　As part of the festival, the beer drinking competition attracted 180 participants from home and abroad.

　　Competitors from Russia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia are enjoying the festival with local beer enthusiasts.

　　Talent, venue shortages a problem for Chinese sailing

　　By Xie Chuanjiao(China Daily)　　

　　QINGDAO: Lack of marinas and professional talents are the biggest problems facing China's sailing team although the sport has undergone rapid development in recent years, said Li Quanhai, vice-director of China's National Aquatic Sports Administrative Centre.

　　"To date there are only a few professional sailing marinas in Qingdao and Rizhao in Shandong Province, Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and Shenzhen in southern China," Li told China Daily in an interview on Wednesday, "It has proved an obstacle for the faster development of Chinese sailing, as well as other aquatic sports."

　　A combination of sport, leisure and adventure, sailing started to become popular in Poland between the 16th-17th centuries. Today, European countries, with a multitude of sailing and yachting clubs, still produce the world's best sailors.

　　However, it took China awhile to accept the high-end sport, which has been called "the rich people's game" due to the lofty input required.

　　China did not hold its first national sailing competition until 1980. Before China won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, the country's sailors had only competed in seven of the total eleven classes at the Olympics.

　　However, hosting the Olympic Games gives China a prime opportunity to participate in all classes in 2008 because boats from home countries automatically qualify for the Olympics.

　　This has resulted in newly-established teams in Yngling, Tornado, Star and 49er, all the first of their kinds in China.

　　Instead of being supported by the state, local governments and even overseas funds play a major role in supporting the four new teams: Yngling team was founded by Qingdao Municipal Sport Administration; Tornado was jointly established by Hainan Province and Fujian Province; 49er belongs to China's Ocean University based in Qingdao, and coaches working abroad fund the Star team.

　　"If this new method works, it will serve as a successful example to other sports," Li said.

　　"Qingdao can be a model city in China for sailing popularization, with the city's 'sailing enters schools' campaign," Li said.

　　Li hopes the campaign will help more students in high schools to participate in sailing like other developed countries, such as Singapore, where the sport is popular among students.

　　At the national team level, Li said improving athletes' stability is at the top of agenda.

　　"As you can see we have very good athletes in a few classes, but their good performances are not consistent," Li said, "This inconsistency has greatly influenced their overall scores."

　　Li said his centre had recently established a special research team to help cope with the problem.

　　In terms of the Chinese team's performance in the first four days, he commented, "It is fairly normal so far. Qingdao's home boat in Yngling was placed second and ninth respectively, and that is exciting. They are utilizing their home advantage."

　　"Theoretically all the top ten players have the possibility of winning. In the first few days, foreign athletes are still familiarizing themselves with the venue, and it is possible for them to excel in the days following. And the Chinese team needs to be very careful," Li said.

　　Though recent World Champion Xu Lijia has not performed as well as expected in the first four days, Li remains positive.

　　"Xu has attracted a lot of attention after she won a World Championship early this month. I guess she is under a lot of pressure. For her, experiencing some frustration is not a bad thing."

　　"After all it is a test event, we are not going to be overly affected by the results, but it is a great opportunity to learn from the world's top players and be better prepared for the Olympic competitions in two years," Li added.

　　Record number of tourists flock to Qingdao

　　By Lao Ju(China Daily)　　

　　QINGDAO: Qingdao is one of the best tourist destinations in summer time.

　　According to the latest statistics from Qingdao Tourism Bureau, the number of tourists coming to Qingdao from June until now has reached 12 million, a record for Qingdao during this period.

　　The red roof tops, green trees, blue sea, and azure sky form a bright and colourful picture of Qingdao. The city is sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of the Orient.

　　Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Qingdao attracts tourists with its charming seascape. Sights like the Eight Passes Villas, the Zhan Bridge, Wusi Square and Mt. Laoshan, will help you to remember Qingdao.

　　Qingdao offers food with distinctive flavours, including great seafood. It is also home to the famous Qingdao (Tsingtao) Beer.

　　Qingdao caters to everyone. The tourists prefer the feeling of romance along the seaside, the photographers enjoy capturing the different colours of the city in their cameras, food connoisseurs feel that nothing else matters except Qingdao's beer and seafood, while business people find the city's energy and potential appealing.

　　Zhan Bridge, also called Trestle Bridge, is the landmark of Qingdao city. Originating in 1891 as a naval pier, the bridge is 440 meters long and 10 meters wide, and decorated with lotus lamps. Huilan Pavilion, at the south of the bridge, offers an excellent view of the bay's scenery, and Zhanqiao Park, at the north end of the bridge, is renowned for its excellent beach.

　　From the Zhan Bridge to Badaguan, a park near the coast, there is a distance of 5 kilometres, lined by ancient buildings, dating back to the early 1900s.

　　Yellow walls, green surroundings, and curving pathways spice up the hundreds of old constructions, giving tourists a taste of European influence.

　　From Spring to Autumn, these places are prime locations for wedding photographs.

　　"It is so beautiful. The ancient buildings are so attractive," said Nicoles, a photographer from Germany.

　　"There are architectural influences from Russia, Britain, France, Italy and Spain."

　　Surging tourism

　　The weekly number of flights has reached 1,400 in the international airport, with tourists coming from places such as Hong Kong and Tokyo.

　　Since the first Korean companies began doing business in Qingdao in 1988, the number of Korean people living in Qingdao has grown. Thousands of Korean people now live and work there, which makes Qingdao the city with the most Korean investment enterprises in China. In addition, Qingdao also has the largest Korean population in China. With years of cultural exchanges, the two nations have established deep, close friendships and mutual trust.

　　Director of the Press Office of the city also told reporters that Qingdao's role as the sailing city and its successful bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympic regatta events have helped boost Qingdao's tourism to a new level.

　　"Thanks to the sailing events, transportation, shopping, accommodation, catering businesses, entertainment and sight-sighting are all undergoing rapid progress," said Wang Haitao.

　　Capitalizing on the Olympic opportunity, Qingdao has stepped up its efforts to explore the overseas market in a bid to promote Qingdao's presence and popularity worldwide.

　　"We have reached agreements with tourism bureaus and sightseeing associations from seven countries. We have friendly relations with more than 30 countries and the number of tourists from abroad increases 21 per cent every year," said Wang.

　　According to Wang, 105 new scenic sites opened recently, including 35 demonstration sites for industrial and agricultural tourism.