Olympic Sailing Venue in Qingdao Widely Commended  

 
Qingdao, the beach city in northern China's Shandong Province, will host the sailing competition for the Beijing Olympics.

After years of preparation, participants in the upcoming sports event say they are most satisfied with the city's new sailing venue.

Our reporter Chen Xi has the story.

Reporter:

Facing the Yellow Sea in eastern China, Qingdao occupies a hilly peninsula surrounded by stunning bays. The Olympic sailing events will take place here in a week, attracting millions of spectators and sailors from around the world.

Local authorities in this Olympic co-host city say that they are confident that Qingdao will impress the world with its expensive and outstanding facilities for the sailing events.

Visitors and sailors who have come here to compete in the Olympics say they are already very impressed.
Eileen Loo is from Singapore.

"I feel very good. This is my first time in Qingdao, a very modern city as far as I can see. I think their efforts are worthwhile."

Athletes say they are happy with the facilities at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, where the sailing competitions will be held. They say they are also pleased with the accommodations at the Qingdao Olympic Village.

Ricardo Probert is the Deputy Chief of Mexico's sailing team.

"The whole village, the front of the facilities facing the sea, and the efforts of the Qingdao government have made it very good for the sport, the village, the services and the food. Everything is very good."

Derby Anderson is a member of the United States sailing team. She says she is very impressed by the sports facilities in the competition venue.

"The sea wall looks like a perfect place to watch the sailing events from. I think it's going to be really popular. And the village is a five-star hotel with fountains and sculptures and all kinds of gorgeous things all over the hotel. Everyone is really impressed as are all the athletes I've spoken to."

With less than a week to go before the start of the Olympic Games, more than 400 sailors from around the world have started making their way to Qingdao for the sailing competition.

Chen Xi, CRI News, Qingdao.