With slightly salty sea winds blowing over faces, the beach glitters under the azure sky. People swim, sail, go canoeing, go yachting or dive in the blue sea, constituting a boisterous scene. Riding on the confident, optimistic and brave wind, a rising number of aquatic sports enthusiasts flock in to find inspirations and take pleasure in speed and passion in the sea water of Qingdao.

As a city where China’s sailing originated, sailing in Qingdao is long-standing and enjoys a profound history. Since the 2008 Olympic Sailing Games, a stream of international sailing events have been held in Qingdao, thus making Qingdao rise to reputation for sailing. In the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2023, As athletes from Qingdao won the gold medal in the swimming competition of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2023, Qingdao increasingly lives up to its reputation as the “Sailing City” in China.

For years, there is a group of amateurs diving in Zhanqiao Pier, a landmark tourist attraction in Qingdao. In 2007, the diving enthusiasts set up the Diving Team under Zhanqiao Pier Winter Swimming Association, which once had a maximum membership of more than 60. Graceful diving movements at one stretch often capture the attention of many tourists.

Qingdao natives explore aquatic sports with untiring vigour. Once non-mainstream sports such as motorboating, kitesurfing and paddle boarding now find increasing favor. Marine recreational sports, which are both exhilarating and stylish, are emerging as new tourist consumption hotspots in Qingdao.

In October this year, the national kitesurfing championship was held in Qingdao. The surfers, who treaded on boards and caught hold of gigantic kites, seemed to gallop amid sea winds and waves. The aquatic sport before the wind can present brand new visual experience to citizens and tourists.

Paddle boarding, which in need of relatively simple facilities, merely a paddle and a board, is easy to learn and therefore finds increasing favor with swimming enthusiasts. Furthermore, canoeing, wakeboarding and other aquatic sports are becoming increasingly popular in Qingdao, leading to a tide of marine sports.

The thriving aquatic sports will not only inject new impetus into Qingdao’s ocean-themed tourism industry, but also provide more possibilities for cultivating new diversified forms of sports and leisure tourism and creating new scenarios for sports consumption.  (Xu Nuo)

Citizens and tourists are amusing themselves with motorboating in the First Bathing Beach of Qingdao.  By Wang Lei