The coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, will play host to the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series from April 29 to May 2, according to the event organizer at its inauguration ceremony recently held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 2016 Extreme Sailing Series holds its inauguration ceremony at Dubai International Marine Club. [Photo/dailyqd.com]

As China's "Sailing City", Qingdao has held this event for consecutively five years.

Eight top teams in the world will compete in this year’s event, including Austria’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team, whose skipper is two-time Olympic gold medal winner Roman Hagara.

This season introduces a new catamaran enabling faster speeds, making the competition more intense. [Photo/dailyqd.com]

According to the organizer, this season will see the introduction of a new catamaran, the GC32. With a 10-meter length and six-meter width, the carbon fiber vessel will exploit faster speeds, making the competition more intense.

After the event kicks off in Muscat of Oman in March, the event will tour around seven cities including Qingdao, Cardiff in the United Kingdom, Hamburg in Germany and St Petersburg in Russia.