QINGDAO -- More than 100 midshipmen from naval academies in ten countries, including China, Singapore, Nigeria, Italy and Venezuela, have gathered in Qingdao City in east China for an international naval exchange camp to enhance their leadership skills.

The eight-day Future International Midshipmen Leadership Camp, which kicked off on Sunday in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, features a combination of competitions, exchanges and demonstrations. Grouped in mixed teams, the Chinese and foreign midshipmen will hone their leadership capability through competitive games, joint training, cultural exchanges and other activities.

The opening ceremony was held at 9:00 at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, attended by about 1,200 military officials, civilian leaders, and cadet representatives from China and abroad. Later, an international sailing invitational officially kicked off.

The sailing invitational includes course races and long-distance races.

Additional activities included exchange seminars, as well as a water obstacle friendship contest scheduled to take place on Wednesday, featuring multiple navy-specific training elements including torpedo tube crawling, high-wall scaling, and rope net climbing.