Qingdao rides rising tide

Industries related to its neighboring ocean continue to play a crucial role in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province, where fisheries, other marine products and shipbuilding are pivotal to the city's economy.

Administrators recently unveiled a "Qingdao Blue Economic Zone Development Plan" that will see 500 billion yuan in investment for 200 key projects in five economic zones along Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay over the next five years.

According to the plan, by 2015 the city will become China's first region of a "scientific marine economy", with a concentration of oceanic industries as well as a demonstration area for protection of the marine environment.