Paradise for all athletes

The largest non-competition venue for the Olympic Sailing Competition, the Qingdao Olympic Village is located in Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, just across the street to the sailing competition venue.

"It is rare for the Olympic village to be so close to the competition venue," said Shan Liang, administrative vice-director of the Qingdao Olympic Village.

"It took about two hours from the Athens Olympic Village to the competition venue, whereas the Qingdao Olympic Village is just a few meters away from the competition venue," Shan added.

"I believe the athletes will be very spoiled here. You possess all the necessary facilities here to have a fantastic stay," said Gilbert Felli, the Olympic Games' executive director for the International Olympic Committee.

"On top of that, the village is just by the sailing harbor so they can go and sail by walking. It is also fantastic for the athletes," Felli added.

Qingdao Olympic Village is a paradise for all athletes to live and compete, providing 93 kinds of services for about 700 athletes and team officials from over 60 countries during the Games, including accommodation, catering, commerce and competition information.

"It's unbelievable. Qingdao Olympic Village is one of the best of its kind I have ever seen," Deputy Chef-de-Mission from Canada Evert Bastet said.

With a cost of more than 700 million yuan and an acreage area of 100,000 sq m, Qingdao Olympic Village is equipped with 400 guest rooms, with 30 fitted for wheelchairs. The village is divided into residential, international, operational and park zones for the Games.

Green environment

Comprehensive environmental protection materials have been used for the village, which has become a model of recycling economy and a modern stadium that unites three concepts of a Hi-tech Olympics, People's Olympics and Green Olympics. The village will also be used as one of the highest-rated hotels after the Games.

According to Dong'ao Group Company, the Qingdao Olympic village is a green project which uses a reclaimed water system. A garbage disposal station has also been built to ensure that refuse will not pollute the environment. Similarly, large quantities of solar energy pipes have been installed to maximize the use of solar energy for heating and refrigeration.

In the international zone, almost all requisite services can be found here, including postal, banking, telephone, Internet, newsstand and general store facilities.

Various cultural activities are also being provided for guests, such as folk customs culture displays and tea art performances. Athletes from all over the world can look forward to experiencing unique Chinese culture.

(China Daily 08/08/2008 page60)