Qingdao will stage a series of international sailing games in the days to come following its hosting of the 2009-2010 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in February.

Qingdao has been remodeling itself into a sailing city since the first regatta of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was held in the city.

The city’s main marine sports ground is Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, which occupies an area of 45 hectares at Fushan Bay in eastern Qingdao. It has a seawall 534 meters long and 47 meters wide, more than 120 floating piers and 800 berths.

Qingdao has conducted a number of campaigns to promote its image as a city of sailing. The city has bought more than 1,000 sailing boats and has 100 youth sailing clubs. Sixty-five sailing schools were built to provide inland and offshore training to further popularize sailing as a sport.

Qingdao also held sailing demonstrations at the opening of the Qingdao International Marine Festival last year and attended the Qingdao International OP Class Regatta, the China Cup Regatta in Shenzhen, the Pusan Cup Regatta in South Korea, and the 19th Alilang Regatta in Qingdao. Eight sailers from Qingdao attended 2009-2010 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The 2010 Qingdao International Sailing Week, from Aug. 21 to 29, will host a series of international events. An international youth yachting camp co-hosted by Qingdao and International OP Class Sailing Association will be the largest of its kind ever. This year’s Qingdao International Sailing Week aims to attract more high-level athletes to train in Qingdao.