Qingdao reaps gold from Olympic development

QINGDAO: "The Olympic sailing competition is promoting the city's image to the world and bringing significant changes," said Xia Geng, mayor of the port city in Shandong province.

In fact benefits are already apparent, Xia said, noting Qingdao has developed rapidly since it won the bid to host the Olympic sailing event.

"In the past 5 years, Qingdao witnessed one of the best and fastest-growing periods in its history. Its gross domestic product (GDP) continued to grow at an annual average rate of 16 percent and hit 378.6 billion yuan ($54.9 billion) last year," the mayor said.