A maritime education center opened on Wednesday in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong province, said an official from the Ocean University of China (OUC).

The center opened on the "World Ocean Day" and aims to boost the public's knowledge of China's ocean resources, said Li Yaozhen, a deputy party chief from the Ocean University of China.

Located on the university's Laoshan campus, the 400-square-meter center showcases marine organisms, models of Chinese warships and a "sand map" that displays China's maritime rights and interests. The State Oceanic Administration sponsored the construction of the center.

The center will not only be educational for students, but also for the whole nation, said Li.

China boasts abundant marine resources, with 3 million square kilometers of offshore waters and 32,000 kilometers of coastline.

China's maritime industry saw a record annual profit increase of 13 percent over the past five years, hitting 3.8 trillion yuan ($579 billion) last year and employing more than 33 million people.

China should stick to the policy of coordinating the development of its land- and sea-based economies during the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in April, adding that China should explore and utilize ocean resources and speed up the development of its marine economy.

Edited by Chen Zhilin

Source: English.news.cn