Haikou to host China Sailing Annual Festival in Nov

The 2019 China Sailing Annual Festival is slated to be hosted in Haikou, Hainan province from Nov 11 to 24, according to the announcement jointly made by the China Yachting Association and the Haikou municipal government on Aug 26 in the city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei province.

Early on Aug 3 in 2018, the General Administration of Sport of China and the Hainan Provincial Government inked a cooperation agreement to boost the integrative development of sports and tourism in Hainan. The city of Haikou then upgraded one of its abandoned ports on the west coast and transformed it into the largest national sailing training base in Asia. The dock was the venue for the 2018 Chinese Sailing Annual Festival, which was held from Dec 16 to 24.

The annual festival will include events such as the China Yachting Association Annual Conference, the China Sailing League Finals, and the China Sailing Hall of Fame. It will attract the World Sailing, sailing organizations from all continents, countries, and regions, as well as the General Administration of Sport of China, city representatives, and athletes. 

This year's China Sailing League will be the last winter training before the Chinese national team prepares for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

The China Sailing Annual Festival is an important attempt by the China Sailing Association and the Haikou municipal government to build a sailing culture, as well as promote tourism and industrial integration. It has recieved wide acclaim, with many members of the international sailing industry and the China's sailing community participating in it, said Liu Weidong, secretary general of the China Yachting Association. 

Long Weidong, vice mayor of Haikou, noted that as the first group of sailing cities in China, Haikou has been investing in the construction of the national sailing training base, hotels, talent buildings, and the public piers for sailing, showing the city's intent to build a sports and tourism complex, as well as a national sports tourism demonstration area centering around sailing. 

The conference for the 2019 China Sailing Annual Festival is held in Qinghuangdao, Hebei province on Aug 26. [Photo/Chinanews.com]