China Team welcomed today its first Chinese crew members on to the base at Tinglado Cinco in Valencia today.

Two of the young sailors have come from Qingdao city (known as the sailing capital of China, and host to the 2008 Olympic Games) and the other is from Ri Zhao on the southwest coast.

They will join China Team in Acts 4 & 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup, and they are expected to start training over the next few days.

Fei ZHAO is 21 and has a background in 470 Olympic dinghy sailing. He started OP-level training when he was 13 and converted to 470-level in 1999.

Guangyi LIU is 23 and is an experienced Finn Class sailor. He was ranked 6th at Laser Level in the Chinese National Sailing Tournament, 9th in the preliminary contest of the 10th National Gymkhana and attended the Hong Kong Regatta.

Peirui WANG is just 17, and - a ‘former’ boxer – is also a talented Finn Class sailor. All three have grown up following the America’s Cup, and are very excited to be part of the historic milestone that is China’s first involvement in this competition.