The sport has gotten a substantial amount ot support from the Qingdao government in carrying the Olympic spirit forward, over the past three years. Photos Provided to China Daily

This year's Sailing Week is scheduled for August 20 to September 4, at the Olympic Sailing Center, with the theme "Inheriting the Olympic Heritage, Developing a Marine Economy, and Building a Sailing City".

Lin Zhiwei, the chairwoman of the Qingdao Sailing Association, said they will focus on international Olympic Sailing exchanges and international matches, with emphasis on the sailing population and culture, sailing industry, and sailing for youth.

There are three major sailing competitions on tap: the Mayors Cup Qingdao International Sailing Rally, the Lushang Cup Qingdao International Sailing Match, and the Qingdao International OP class summer camp and International OP Class Boat Championship.

Two more national sailing competitions that will take place at the same time are the 2011 China Sailing Elite Race, and the 2011 China Funboard Championship.

Hundreds of cultural works on sailing, including posters, pictures, and brochures from some national Olympic museums, national sailing associations, and sailing cities with important sailing events have sent works related to sailing to Qingdao for the sailing week.

Goran Petersson, president of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and other prominent sailing figures have helped selected top 10 of the cultural works and works from Kiel Sailing Week have won the first place.

"All the works sent here are exhibited in Qingdao Olympic Sailing Museum during the sailing week," Lin said.

"We intend to have celebrity events for our sailing weeks because they attract a lot of attention," Lin explained.

This year's sailing week is expected to have international sailing celebrities and a celebrity talk on international cooperation, cultural diversity, economic development, and science and technology, she added.

As if that were not enough, Qingdao is also working on plans for a Qingdao Cruise and Yachting Economy to give policy support for a yachting industrial park.

"Qingdao's international sailing events give us many business opportunities and we've had a chance to put many of our design and product ideas into effect," said Hou Jie, general manager of the Qingdao Nauticstar Marine Co Ltd, in an earlier interview with China Daily.

By 2015 the cruise and yacht industry is expected to have more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in added value output.

The city already has 50-some yacht and motorboat manufacturers, turning out more than 10,000 sailboats and yachts annually, with approximately 90 percent of them sold overseas.

The largest manufacturer, Qingdao Nauticstar, became the supplier of working boats and VIP reception boats for the 29th Olympic Games in 2008.

In November, the company will finish work on the 16 boats competing in the Clipper 2011-2012 Round-the-World Yacht Race.

By Xie Chuanjiao and Dai Yan (China Daily)

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