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SHANGHAI 2007 - Called in short in Chinese "Hu" or "Shen", Shanghai hosts a double gender SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event for the third-straight season as the country continues preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  Situated in the middle of China's east coastline, Shanghai has four distinct seasons and a population over 13 million.  Shanghai’s inhabitants are among the most hospitable and cheerful in the world and the city in which they live is both colorful and diverse. In addition to hosting a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event for the third-straight year, Shanghai is noted for its many festivals, including the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Longhua Temple Bell Striking on New Year’s Eve, the Longhua Temple Fair, the International Tea Culture Festival and the Orange Festival.  For shoppers, culinary connoisseurs and sight-seers, Shanghai is worth the visit, especially with China’s tallest building the Jim Mao Tower, which stands at 480 meters.  The Chinese city has often been referred to as a “shopping paradise” and all tastes are catered to in Shanghai.  Favorite foods from France, Russia, Italy, England, Japan and India will be found along with 16 styles of Chinese food that can be tasted in any of the 1,000-plus restaurants throughout the city.
 

May 2-6, Women's China Open at Shanghai - The women’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour returns to Shanghai for the fourth-straight season as the international tour stages an event in China for the 10th-straight season.  The 2006 Shanghai stop saw China placed first, second and fourth for the country’s first-ever three-team “final four” finish in women’s FIVB history.  Xue Chien became the youngest player ever to win an international Beach Volleyball as the 17-year old team with 21-year old Zhang XI to defeat Tian Jia (25, second from left) and Wang Jie (21, left) for the gold medal.  Xue Chen (third from left) and Zhang Xi (third from right) reached the finals by defeating three top-ranked teams from Brazil in succession, including a semi-final win over defending Shanghai champions Juliana Felisberta Silva (second from right) and Larissa Franca (right) of Brazil.  Holly McPeak and Elaing Youngs won the inaugural Shanghai stop in 2004 to help the Americans secure a spot in the Athens 2004 Olympics where they claimed the bronze medal.  Dalian hosted women’s stops three times where Brazil’s Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede (1998 and 1999) and Liz Masakayan/Elaine Youngs of the United States (2000) won gold medals.  Two Maoming stops saw Adriana/Shelda (2001) and Misty May/Kerri Walsh of the United States (2002) win titles.  The 2003 Lianyungang event was won by the Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra for the Netherland’s only FIVB title.  Prior to 1-2-4 placements in 2006, the host country’s best finish in the women’s Chinese Open was a 2000 bronze medal for Rong Chi and Zi Xiong at Maoming.  China has had teams placed fourth in each of the Shanghai stops, including Lu Wang/Whenhui You (2004), Tian Jia/Wang Fei (2005) and Zhang Ying/Zuo Man (2006).

PAST CHINA WOMEN’S PODIUM PLACEMENTS

Total Medals - USA 9, Brazil 9, Australia 4, China 3, Germany 1, Netherlands 1