The coastal city of Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, recently won the bid for the third stop of the 2015-2017 Extreme Sailing Series, the fifth time for the city to host the annual event, qingdaonews.com reported on April 16.

The event will be held in Qingdao from April 30 to May 3 and then tour around countries in the Middle East, Europe and Oceania during the next eight months.

Founded in 2007, the Extreme Sailing Series is considered as one of the top international sailing events, along with Volvo Ocean Race, America's Cup, PWA (Professional Windsurfers Association) World Cup and World Match Racing Tour.

Over the past five years, the coastal city has been the host port for many international sailing events, including the Clipper Round the World Race, Volvo Ocean Race, Extreme Sailing Series and ISAF Sailing World Cup.

It will help Qingdao build itself into a "Sailing City" and foster the cooperation with the countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, put forward by President Xi Jinping.