Background: The former Beihai shipbuilding factory has witnessed the golden age of the city's shipbuilding history. Hosting the sailing competition for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has made the city an important place for the sport. The Olympic Sailing Center is now a landmark in the city and has become the venue which had hosted the largest number of international sailing competitions in Asia.

Although the successful 2008 Olympics was three years ago, the city is still full of passion for sailing and regattas. The former small fishing village has now become a "City of Sailing", attracting top sailors and sailing lovers from all around the world.

After the Olympics, the sailing center opened free to the public as a national coastal leisure area. The yachts, the sea, the sky and the skyscrapers have become a special scene in the city which attracted many visitors, photographers and couples shooting wedding pictures.

Competitions are held frequently in the center. Apart from the top international regattas, many friendly matches between sailing lovers are also held here, too. "I love the city's passion for sailing sports and was very honored to compete at the Berkeley Regatta twice in Qingdao, so I initiated today's friendly match to express my honor to the city, which is also my hometown," Gao Jun, who initiated a friendly match in tribute to the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the city, said on June 14. (Wang Yuanyuan, Sun Fei)