This will be the third time that Qingdao has sponsored an entry in the Clipper Race and, in the six years since the city first became involved, it has gone from virtually unheard of outside China to a venue synonymous with world class sailing events.
| Country: | China |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Beijing |
| Population: | 1,330,044,544 |
| Time Zone: | GMT +8 |
| Currency: | Renminbi (RMB) |
In August 2008 Qingdao hosted the sailing events of the Beijing Olympic Games.
The city is home to more than seven million people and attracts 15 million visitors annually. They’re drawn to the beaches, the parks surrounding Qingdao’s urban sprawl and the buildings within it – a mix of high tech high rises dominating the waterfront, European-style red roofed houses and the Badaguan, or Eight Great Passes, area where more than 200 exotically-styled villas have been designated as a World Architecture Museum.
Located on the Shandong peninsula in Jiaozhou Bay, facing the Yellow Sea, Qingdao holds an international beer festival every August where the centrepiece is, of course, the local brew, Tsingtao. The cuisine of Shandong province is one of the eight major cuisine traditions in China. In the local restaurants expect to find dishes prepared with seafood, delicate aromas and pure flavour – it was a royal favourite during the Ming and Qing dynasties.