The opening ceremony of the first China Beijing Jinhai Lake Regatta was held in Beijing on Friday.

The sailing race, which was set up and will be broadcast by China Media Group (CMG), will take place on Saturday and Sunday at Jinhai Lake Scenic Area, an AAAA-level scenic area in Pinggu District of Beijing. Sailors from both China and Canada will compete for the top honor.

Xue Jijun, a member of CMG's editorial board, attended the regatta's opening ceremony. He pointed out that CMG has always implemented the strategies of national fitness and has been building a healthier China, as well as focusing on developing premium self-made sports events with Chinese characteristics.

Xue believes that the launch of the China Beijing Jinhai Lake Regatta will infuse new life into the development of water sports in China. He also promised that CMG will, via continuing to produce more high-quality sports broadcasting, help improve sailing races in the country and increase participation in and attention to the sport, both as CMG's contributions to the development of China's cultural industry.

Tang Hailong, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Pinggu District Committee, welcomed the sailors and media outlets for the regatta with open arms. He said that the launch of this event is significant to promoting the development of combining leisure and sports in Pinggu, building a local water sports industry cluster, enriching residents' sports and cultural life and refining Pinggu's brand as a thriving district.

According to Tang, Pinggu will spare no effort as a host to make sure that everybody can feel the warmth of the host and passion from the locals in the first China Beijing Jinhai Lake Regatta.

Xu Lijia, the first-ever Olympic sailing gold medalist of China; British world sailing champion Jon Emmett; Argentine legendary sailor Santiago Lange and other top sailors all sent well-wishing videos for the regatta.