INTRO: Welcome to another edition of our special program featuring Qingdao, the official site for the 2008 Olympics Sailing Regatta. In addition to co-hosting the Olympics successfully, Qingdao was also played host to several other world-renowned sailing races, like the Volvo Ocean Race and the Clipper Round the World.
Qingdao has since sailed into prominence and gained worldwide recognition as China's cradle of talented and competitive sailors.
More sails are going to be seen fluttering in Qingdao as the city has recently been selected as the competition venue for the World Match Racing Tour, or WMRT. The event will be held this October and for the next three consecutive years. It seems that Qingdao is going to be the world's next City of Sails.
Reporter: It may be the best marina in China. With a coastline of over 730 kilometers, Qingdao is an ideal location for sea sports and regattas.
Last month, the World Match Racing Tour Committee and the Yachting Association in Qingdao signed an agreement to make Qingdao a WMRT destination. WMRT is known as one of the three top-notch sailing competitions in the world of the International Sailing Federation, with the other two being the America S Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. It has been recognized as one of the most professional sailing races on earth.
It is expected that competing sailors in WMRT will arrive at Qingdao in October this year, after completing nine other stops in countries like France, Denmark and South Korea.
During the Beijing Olympics two years ago, Qingdao's wind and tides greeted 400 sailors from 62 countries for the intense sailing competitions. As the saying goes, "a blessed land nurtures outstanding people"; in turn, Qingdao brought China her first Olympic sailing gold.
China's windsurfer Yin Jian says Qingdao is a lucky place for her.
"Thank you Qingdao, thank you Qingdao. You gave me good luck."
Qingdao has not only provided a breakthrough in China's Olympic sailing history by bagging the gold medal, but it has also led to the development of the "Qingdao mode".
The Qingdao mode is an audience participatory model in sailing regattas. It makes use of the winner's sailing route for the award ceremonies, and breakwaters for spectators' stands. This way, the distance between competitors and spectators shrinks, making the regatta something more than a cold sporting event. The Qingdao mode set an example for other nations and will be recorded in the history of global sailing sports.
The first Olympic bronze medal winner in sailing, Xu Lijia of China, was impressed at being so close to the spectators.
"We have never had the experience of spectators cheering us on. When people on the breakwaters cheered for me, I was so moved and motivated."
The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center attracted tens of thousands of sailors and spectators from around the world to the stunning bays. It received praise for its organization and accommodation. The International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge repeatedly stated that Qingdao had held the most successful sailing regatta in Olympic history. The international competitors seemed to be equally impressed.
"All the volunteers are really friendly. Very good organization. You are very good at opening and closing ceremonies; we enjoyed the experience."
Right after Qingdao won the right to host the Olympic sailing event, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race took place there. The race was held for the third time in Qingdao after the Olympics and Paralympics Sailing Games. The "Olympic Effect" won Qingdao more deals with other world-famous sailing events - one of which was the Volvo Ocean Race that made its debut in China after 37 years in existence.
Established for more than three decades, the Volvo Ocean Race is the biggest international professional sailing competition held every four years. The race happens over nine months across 39,000 nautical miles.
In January last year, the Green Dragon, a competing ship produced and sponsored by China, joined the race with Qingdao as the stopover.
Damian Foxall is the duty skipper of the Green Dragon.
Traversing four continents and five oceans with a change of clothes every month and only four hours of sleep per day, the hardship of the race really tested the brave athletes. Once, a crew member was engulfed by an 18-meter high wave and his body could never been found. Finishing the Volvo Ocean Race is by no means an easy feat.
Ian Walker, the skipper of the Green Dragon and two-time winner of both the America S Cup and the Olympics Silver medal, recounted his Volvo experience.
The Volvo Ocean race's arrival left the Chinese in awe. It first showcased yachts of international standard. Then it portrayed the extreme difficulties Volvo sailors have to overcome in the voyage. Dubbed the Himalayas at sea, the Volvo spirit is loud and clear: sailing beyond human potential.
The Green Dragon survived the Volvo race. Its rich Chinese embodiment renders it particularly significant to China. Apart from being Chinese-made and sponsored, the Green Dragon had Guo Chuan on board as the very first Chinese to have completed the entire Volvo Ocean Race.
Guo Chun, a native of Qingdao, took up the role as a media crew member, a post added by the Volvo Ocean Race Committee in 2008. The post required Guo to act like a war journalist, chronicling and reporting important events back to the base.
In order to capture high quality audio and visual materials, Guo Chun bruised and sprained his body on the bumpy yacht. Once, he even hit his nose on the deck so hard that it almost broke.
"You've got to push your limits. Be a man, be a strong man. If you have a dream, no matter how cruel, how painful, how improbable it appears for you to achieve it, you still have to try. Having an Asian face is no reason for me to fall. I succeeded more than I had expected. I became good friends with other crew members. I am so happy about how things turned out."
Amid the Chinese Spring Festival, the ultimate reward for months of battling against harsh sea conditions came for the Green Dragon crew-the reunion with families and friends. The noise from gongs and drums thundered at the Qingdao port, posing a warm welcome back for the sailors.
The skipper on duty Damian Foxell is among the excited crowd.
Qingdao does not only serve professional sailors, it also welcomes amateurs. The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the largest international yacht race for amateurs, has chosen Qingdao as the venue three times.
What is special about the race is that China's Qingdao Yacht realized the dreams of Qingdao people by placing the most Chinese on board in an international sailing event. Aboard the yacht were ten Chinese; among them, eight were locals from Qingdao. Yacht sailor Zhang Lezhong is one of them.
"We hope more Chinese will be able to sail the Qingdao Yacht and join an international race. We hope to put China's flags everywhere we sail, so every port knows that we are from Qingdao."
As more international yacht races are picking Qingdao's port as a stopover or destination, enthusiasm in sailing is also spreading in Qingdao.
According to unofficial statistics, during the Clipper race this year, more than 100,000 Qingdao residents visited the Qingdao Olympic Center. At the center, they got the chance to admire yacht displays from all over the world and learn navigation skills.
"It's my first time to see something like this. It's quite interesting."
"Every ship represents a country's culture. I appreciate the fact that these foreign yachts endeavored to sail all the way here."
"It's great that international races are being held here in Qingdao. I'm glad that people realized Qingdao has the capacity for holding races of such scale."
Now, sails are still dominating Qingdao, adding resonance to the dynamic coastal city. Sailing-related industries have also thrived. Registered social sailing clubs have increased to 30. 64 schools with sailing characteristics have been built. Yacht manufacturers have also made Qingdao their homes. Above all, Qingdao has the WMRT that tops the national sports event calendar.
Mayor of Qingdao, Xia Geng, says that since the end of the Beijing Olympics, the municipal government has been working towards making Qingdao an international yachting city in China and across the world.
"We hope that by hosting world-class races, we can boost China's status in sailing. At the same time, we will try to develop Qingdao into an important port for international races. We will keep working hard to make all these things happen."
[Across the Country] Qingdao Yacht Races
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