The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing
The 29th Olympic Games will be staged from the 8th-24th of August in the Chinese capital. The sailing competitions will take place in the city of Qingdao.
Qingdao, also known as Singtao, is a seaport in the province Shandong in the East of the people's republic of China. The name of the city means „green island“. Qingdao reached its present size through incorporating the districts of Jimo, Jiaozhou and Jiaonan in 1977 and Laixi and Pingdu in 1984.
Business Location Qingdao
Qingdao is the economic centre of the province Shandong. The coastal city spreads over an area of 10,654 square kilometres and is divided into seven main and five city districts. The population of the region is about seven million; therefrom 2.1 million people live in the city area. In Qingdao the largest natural deep-sea harbour is located, which is ranked among the 15 largest harbours of the world. There is a well established infrastructure in place to all the important economic centres in the surrounding area.
During the Olympic Games 2008, Qingdao will be the venue of the water sport competitions. In the coming years additional investments are planned for the development of the city and in particular into the infrastructure.
More than 30 mineral raw materials can be found in the Qingdao area, the fruitful hinterland allows for an intensive agricultural production. The most important industry branches of the region are textiles, drinks, grocery processing, tobacco, chemistry, metal processing, mechanical engineering, electrical appliances, electronics and telecommunication. Qingdao is the seat of many important large Chinese firms like Haier, Hisense or Tsingtao beer.
Once in a year, the international household appliance fair as well as the electronics fair takes place in Qingdao, the annual „Qingdao Beer festival“ attracts numerous visitors from all over the world into the city. The city hosts 16 universities, including the most famous oceanic University of China, 54 research institutes and 33 so called ‘experimental places’. Furthermore there are numerous renowned medical clinics as well as an international school located in Qingdao.
The advantageous economic background attracted many foreign investors, including several Top-500-Companies such as Coca-Cola, Degussa, or Nescafe. The clean environment, a comfortable maritime climate, an interesting mix of European and Chinese architecture, as well as the attractive coast with its beautiful beaches, makes the city a very popular holiday destination among Chinese and foreigners alike.