Rizhao has successively obtained the more than 10 honored titles and awards, including the following honored titles: National Model City of Environmental Protection, National Sanitary City, National Garden City, Fascinating City of China, National Pilot City of Circular Economy and National Ecological Demonstration Zone, National Garden City and has been regarded as one of the cities that are most suitable for people’s living in China.

With the reputation of “clear sky, blue sea and golden beach”, the CPC Rizhao Municipal Government and Rizhao Municipal Government proposed the strategy of “building Rizhao into the City of Water Sports”. Rizhao planned and constructed the Rizhao Olympic Water Sports Park, a blend base integrating sports race, body-building, recreation and tourism, covering a total area of 9.2 square kilometers. It has successfully hosted a series of important water sports events, such as 2005 International Europe Class Sailing Championship and 2006 International 470 Class World Sailing Championship, 2007 the First China Water Sports Regatta and 2008 China-Japan-Korea Keelboat Friendship Regatta. Rizhao International Sailing Base was designated as National Water Sports Training Base and Training Venue for 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta and Race Venue for sail boarding training and warm-up race. It will also host all water sports items of 11th National Games of China (sailing, sail boarding, canoeing, rowing and white-water rafting), 2009 National Beach Volleyball Championship as well as 2010 National Games of Water Sports.

Scientific and technological garden of universities

Science, technology and education

Rizhao implements the strategy of revitalizing the city through science and education and reinvigorating the city through human resource development, aiming to strengthen core competitiveness and enhancing leaping development. As far as the end of 2008, the city has boasted 6 general universities and colleges with 55,000 students, 17 secondary vocational schools with 26,900 students, 126 middle schools with 144,000 students and 473 primary schools with 192,700 students. The higher education, adult education and various sorts of technology trainings have been promoted and the school-age children enrolment rate has reached 100%. Meanwhile, the science and technology develops rapidly. In 2008, Rizhao accomplished 102 key scientific and technological findings, of which 62 was in the forefront in China, 40 attained the advanced level in China and 5 won the honor of Science and Technology Advancement Prize awarded by Shandong Province. It had 1072 applications for patent and 734 of them were approved, up by 56.5%. A batch of bases integrating production and research and research institutions have been situated in Rizhao, such as Tsinghua University Qingda Hainuo science and technology incubation center, the bases for research in Rizhao affiliated to Chinese American Society of Entrepreneurs and to China National Institute for Educational Research. The cooperation between the city and university has been deeply furthered.