THE renovation of Qingdao International Beer Town started Dec. 17 in Laoshan District. The completion of the project will see a large urban complex integrating leisure, shopping, business and festival celebrations.

    Costing 10 billion yuan and covering an area of 22.5 hectares, the project will include a festival celebration center, a leisure shopping center and a finance center.

    The festival celebration center will feature the city’s signature beer culture, including an ice rink, cinema and a variety of food shops. The finance center will be home to banks and insurance companies, as well as two five-star hotels.

    The district has planned an underground garage for 7,500 cars in the beer town, which will also be a convergence of two planned Metro lines.

    The beer town has attracted large investors and business partners from home and abroad, including Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co. Ltd., Central Retail Corp. from Thailand, Commercial Real Estate Services from the United States, Mitsui Fudosan, Aeon Group, DTZ, Marriott and Mori Building.

    The 2011 Qingdao International Beer Festival, an annual event, would not be affected by the renovations, according to the district government.

    (Li Hao, Wang Liyan)