Leveraging its Olympic legacy, Qingdao continues to excel as a hotspot for sailing professionals and spectators.

In return the sport has spurred growth in other fields and helped drive the city toward becoming an international metropolis.

"Qingdao is a top-class sailing city with high-level venues and amazing sailing conditions as well as the local people and the government's enthusiasm," said Leigh McMillan, one of Britain's top multihull sailors who won the Extreme Sailing Series in 2012 and 2013.

Crew members on board of the Qingdao, the clipper participating in world races.

The Volvo Ocean Race started its five-leg marathon of 12,300 miles (19,899 km) from Qingdao to Rio in 2009.

From October 13 to 19, Qingdao will host the first stop of the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup, the definitive series for Olympic and Paralympic sailing hopefuls. It will be the first time an Asian city will be part of the event.

The Clipper Round the World Race, the longest sailing competition in the world, recently renewed its contract with Qingdao, making it the only city to host the Clipper race for six seasons.

Since 2008, International Sailing Week takes place every third Saturday from August to September in coastal waters around Qingdao and cities in Shandong. From 2009 to 2012, more than 2,000 sailors from 15 countries and regions took part in the Mayor's Cup Yacht Race.

Several Qingdao-born sailing celebrities made it onto the world stage and have gained fame.

Guo Chuan, a Qingdao native, stunned the world by finishing his nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in 137 days and 20 hours. He was also the first Chinese man to compete in the Clipper Race in 2005.

Song Kun, a crew member of The Qingdao taking part in the fifth Clipper Round the World Race, is set to become the first Chinese woman to circumnavigate the globe.

According to the local government's 12th five-year plan (2011-15), Qingdao has set the goal of becoming China's center for sailing education, scientific research, competition, training, tourism and entertainment.

The city now has 30 manufacturers of yachts and sailboats, the largest number of all cities in the country.

The 14 clippers used in this year's race worth a combined 120 million yuan ($19.2 million) were manufactured by Mazarin, a Sino-German joint venture in Qingdao.

The city's infrastructure for yachting and sailing has also been greatly improved.

Robin Knox-Johnston, founder and chairman of the Clipper Race, said the development of sailing in Qingdao was as amazing as the city's rapid growth.

"When the race first visited Qingdao in 2006, the Olympic sailing center was still under construction, and when we came back for a second time in 2008, a world-class sailing facility was presented to everyone," said Knox-Johnson.

"Today, you can see how popular it is by the countless boats on the water," he added.

The route to becoming China's sailing center also required involvement from the public.

"Involvement of the public is the basis of a sport. We will make more effort to bring sailing sports to campuses and families," said Ji Gaoshang, chief of Qingdao Sports Bureau.

Since 2006 more than 140 local schools and clubs have started sailing courses for the public providing more than 10,000 people with professional training.

huqing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/17/2014 page16)