In 2008, visitors coming specifically to see the Games will be encouraged to tour the city, enjoy all types of entertainment and relish the local sea food, said Song Changrui, Communist Party chief in the city in Hebei Province.

The four strategies to increase the appeal of the city to visitors include "Visiting Qinhuangdao," centered on visiting cultural relics and natural scenic spots, "Vacationing in Qinhuangdao," focusing on seeing the football matches of the Games, "Entertainment in Qinhuangdao," targeting all kinds of cultural activities, and "Tasting Delicacies in Qinhuangdao," emphasizing the city's excellent sea food, he said.

According to arrangements from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, there will be nine to 11 football matches in Qinhuangdao during the 2008 Games.

By 2008, eight Olympic-related tourism projects will be completed to buttress the four appealing aspects of the city.

The city expects 2.216 million tourists during the 2008 Games period, said Song.

Qinhuangdao lies in the northeast of Hebei with Bohai Sea to the south, Mount Yanshan to the north, Liaoning Province to the east and Beijing and Tianjin municipalities to the west.

Song said Qinhuangdao possesses a convenient transport network that makes trips simple and easy in the city. State highways 102 and 205, and the Beijing-Shenyang, Beijing-Qinhuangdao, Datong-Qinhuangdao and Qinhuangdao-Shenyang railways pass through the city. The Beijing-Qinhuangdao expressway shortens the trip to Beijing to only two hours.

Shanhaiguan Airport has flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other prominent Chinese cities. Passenger ship liners are in service from Qinhuangdao to Dalian, Yantai and Inchon, South Korea.

"A 'People's Olympics' is our top priority," he said.

A new selling point

Li Wenge, director of Qinhuangdao Municipal Tourism Bureau, said that the four special promotional strategies and eight Olympic-related tourism projects represent the city's "Olympic Tourism Plan."

Qinhuangdao is already well known for Shanhaiguan Pass, the Old Dragon's Head the starting point of the Great Wall Beidaihe, Nandaihe, Changli Beaches, Qinhuangdao Wildlife Park, Xin'ao Marine World, Longevity Hill and Mountain Zushan. Tourism now accounts for about one eighth of the city's fiscal revenue.

Li said the Olympic Games provide an opportunity to boost the city's tourism development by enriching local tourism resources.

The "Olympic Tourism Plan" aims to "use the Olympics to propel tourism and use tourism to add flavour to the Olympics" with the help of Qinhuangdao's "national garden-like city" image. The city hopes to become world-renowned as one of the country's top coastal vacationing resorts, he said.

Olympic projects to enrich resources

To strengthen infrastructure construction, the city has invested 580 million yuan (US$71.52 million) to finish building the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre, which is only 300 metres from the sea, according to Zhang Jianjun, director of the city's Information Office.

The city has also improved training facilities at the China Football School and the Qinhuangdao Sports Base. An Olympic Avenue Park at Beidaihe District and an Olympic Forest Park at Qinhuangdao Economic & Technological Development Zone (QETDZ) have been constructed, he said, adding that the Shanhaiguan Airport will also receive investment to improve transport capabilities.

With the new Olympic facilities, the city has already hosted a dozen sports events, including the World B-Class bicycle championship, the Asian weightlifting championship, the Asian women's basketball championship, the 11th Sports Games of Hebei Province and the China (Qinhuangdao) Mass Fitness Exhibition Meeting.

Sports-themed tourism events have helped boost economic development. During the week-long "May Day Holiday" this year, more than 250,000 visitors came to the city to enjoy the 21st National Speed Skating Championship held at the Olympic Avenue Park, and the signature drive of "Beidaihe-Beijing in Supporting Olympics."

"The number of visitors then was nearly six times the figure over the same period of last year," he said.

Residents on the move

The city is also busying renovating and upgrading existing tourism facilities to prepare for the Olympics. Currently, there are 59 hotels, and about 400 sanatoriums to provide 160,000 beds for Olympic participants and visitors, according to Shi Xiaofeng, Qinhuangdao's publicity chief.

She said that in order to raise the quality of local tourism staff, the city has formulated an "Olympic Sports Tourism Guide" and "Action Code in Welcoming the Olympics" to regulate the service of tourism employees. English study and Olympic etiquette training have also been carried out among 140,000 staff in about 40 scenic spots.

The city also plans to conduct foreign language training classes for local residents in co-operation with universities in the city to create a pool of foreign-language-speaking volunteers during the Games, she added.

Statistics show that Russian visitors spend between US$500 and US$800 on average during their stay in Qinhuangdao, surpassing other overseas visitors' expenditures, he said.

Qinhuangdao is the only city in China named after an emperor - Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty, the first emperor in Chinese History. In 215 BC, Emperor Qinshihuang arrived in Jieshi (ancient name of Qinhuangdao) on his fourth eastern inspection and sent people out to the sea to look for things that could make him immortal. Numerous legends and historical events attest to the city's rich cultural background.

(China Daily 09/15/2006 page5)