News
Sailors wind down with festive family holiday
By Dai Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-26 08:02
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Qingdao welcomed sailors of the 2009-10 Clipper Round the World Yacht race with New Year's celebrations and an invitation to spend time staying with local families over the Lantern Festival.
The race started on the Sept 13 and teams will sail a total of 35,000 nautical miles around the world, stopping at various locations along the way and end back in England in July.
Sailors were met with fireworks, dragon dances, and loud cheers from the crowds when they arrived into the port of Qingdao.
Bob Bell, crewmember of Spirit of Australia, was excited by the enthusiastic welcome. He loved the grand welcoming ceremony and said it made him feel like a hero.
Bob is the oldest of the Spirit of Australia crew. On the same day that the team celebrated winning first place in the fourth leg, Bob was celebrating his 61st birthday. He spent it with his wife Elaine, who came to Qingdao from their home in England to see him.
Luckily, the sailors arrived in China during Spring Festival and welcomed the opportunity to take time out from hard work on the high seas to relax and enjoy the festivities.
Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center was decorated with red lanterns and ribbons. There were many shows including a lion dance opera, stilts and boat dance.
For most of the sailors this was their first visit to Qingdao. " I have never been to China before," said Russell Hallett, of the yacht California crew. "But I am familiar with it. Many things in our country - the clothes, the appliances, are made in China." He took off his coat to reveal the tag "Made in China".
"We are looking forward to spending our time in this beautiful coastal city," David Arnold, crew member of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, said happily. "We've drunk a lot of Tsingtao Beer. I want to go to visit the factory before I leave."
Rather than drinking beer, Jodie Douglas and Emma Beaumont enjoyed the Chinese dragon dances. They got to dress up in professional performance outfits for their first real dance. "I love dragon dancing. We are lucky to have been invited here and there are so many memories that I will take with me once I leave on my way around the rest of the world," Judie said.
As well as beer and dancing, some people strolled along the streets near the sailing center. There were myriad things to buy and lots of people picked up paper-cuttings or toy tigers as souvenirs and presents.
The many bars thronged with people in the evenings, where they sat drinking beer and enjoying the city view. "All the fatigue has gone after sitting here to have some drinks and looking out over the city," Judie said.
On February 28, 76 foreign crewmembers will join local families for the Chinese Lantern Festival and experience some traditional customs of Qingdao. They will make dumplings and yuan xiao - sticky rice balls with sweet filling - with the volunteers' families.
Members of the volunteer families will recite Tang Dynasty poetry in English and tell crewmembers about the origins of the Lantern Festival. They will also get to watch the many folk performances and fireworks.
(China Daily 02/26/2010 page24)
