By Zhao Ruixue and Shi Xiangjie

QINGDAO: Walking along the zigzag  pavement  of  Qingdao`s seashore,  watching  sails  fly across the top of waves as the seabreeze  caresses  your  face, you cannot help but be intoxi- cated by the coastal city.
Located at the southern end of  Shandong  Peninsula  and with  a  history  dating  back thousands of years, Qingdao is rich in history and culture.
Its  range  of  cosmopolitan offerings  continues  to  expand as  cultural  exchanges  with foreign  countries  increase  in number and scale.
International    cultural activities The  sailing  competition  of the  2008  Olympic  Games  will double  as  Qingdao`s  most  im- portant cultural gala.
Various  sports  and  cultural events, like the    007 Qingdao International  Sailing  Regatta, International Beer Festival and International Music Festival, all add to Qingdao`s charm.
Annual cultural events also include China International Vio- lin Competition — more than 60 internationally renowned musi- cians have held concerts in the city — and International Fashion Week when 200 famous fashion designers  host  their  fashion shows.
Qingdao enjoys frequent cul- tural exchanges with dozens of sister cities abroad.
German    Culture    Week, Korean  Cultural  Week  and Japanese  Cultural  Week  take place one after another.
The  International  Movie Week,  International  Fine  Art Show  and  International  Folk Square  Dancing  Show  will be  held  in  the  following  two years.
More  than  40  films  and TV  serials  have  been  shot  in Qingdao,  which  is  home  to many  contemporary  Chinese movie stars.
The biennial Golden Phoenix Award, one of China`s national movie awards, was held on Au- gust  5  this  year  and  involved more  than  a  hundred  movie stars.
Stylish architecture A  history  of  Western  oc- cupation  has  tainted  the  city`s memories, but given Qingdao an impressive array of architecture from more than  20 countries.
A  5km  stretch  of  coastline strewn  with  villas,  castles and  churches  of  European style  has  developed  into  the ideal place for couples to take photographs.
Western  structures  have been preserved well and most are open to tourists.
The  Guest  House`s  unmis- takable  royal  European  style attracts  more  than  300,000 tourists every year.
Famous people, such as Gao Fenghan,  Kang  Youwei,  Pu Songling in the Qing Dynasty and Hong Shen and Wen Yiduo in  modern  times  all  have  so- journed  to  the  culturally  rich Qingdao.
Charms from antiquity As  long  as  6000  years  ago, humans settled here to begin a rich cultural heritage.
Protection  sites  of  cultural relics  on  or  above  province level now number  24.
Jimo County, one of Qingdao`s satellite cities, was built in the East Zhou Period.
After unifying China, Emper- or Qinshihuang visited Langya Tai  three  times,  where  Xu  Fu led a fleet of more than 6,000 people to Japan and Korea.
Taoism in Laoshan Mountain has  exerted  great  influence since the Tang Dynasty.