Haiyang ready for Beach Games

The third Asian Beach Games is ready to enliven Haiyang, a coastal city in eastern Shandong province, on June 16.

More than 1,600 athletes from 45 countries and regions will compete in 13 sports at the seven-day beach gala.

Haiyang is one of the most attractive places in China for beach sports and vacationing due to its 230 kilometers of coastline which includes more than 60km of sandy beaches.

According to Jiang Shili, director-general of the executive bureau of the organizing committee and mayor of the host city, all the venues have been completed and several major sites have been tested through warm-up events.

The athletes village and media village will open on June 12. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Heqingdao Stadium, an open-air theater in the shape of a wave, which can hold more than 18,000 spectators.

The torch for the Haiyang Asian Beach Games will pass through Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, Yantai and Haiyang from June 12-14 with 162 torchbearers taking part.

The biennial Asian Beach Games is the latest in a series of high-level international sporting events hosted in China following the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade.

"It is the first time a county-level city in China will host such a high-level sporting event," Jiang said. "It will help to enhance the image of Haiyang around the country and in Asia as it promotes itself as a city of leisure and sport."

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/08/2012 page23)