A NEW phrase, “scenery sports, has popped up in the local Chinese media after last weekend’s F1 powerboat race on the Huangpu River.

The words refer to the hosting of major sports events at some of the city’s landmark scenic spots ?the Bund, Suzhou Creek and Jinmao Tower.

Through such events, Shanghai is trying to create a new “nameplate?for itself, which will hopefully help humanize the city and stop it being merely a place famous for cold economic growth figures.

The Huangpu River witnessed a spectacular show on the weekend as competitors in the China Grand Prix of the 2004 UIM F1 Powerboat World Championship raced around a course set up in front of the Bund.

Billows of white water and the high-powered shrieks of powerful engines must have made an indelible impression on thousands of Shanghainese spectators who watched the tournament over two days.

“It’s a ‘cool?sport, and to watch it on the Huangpu River just adds an extra special flavour,?said Xue Lan, a 14-year-old girl from a local junior middle school who was accompanied by two school-age relatives.

The event attracted the participation of more than 20 top-notch powerboat drivers, representing 12 teams from 14 countries.

The Huangpu River, for the first time, was closed temporarily for the event. A 2.16-kilometre course with six turns and long straights was set up on the river, providing ample opportunities for thrilling overtaking and twisting power turns by the boats, which reached speeds of nearly 220 kilometres per hour.

American Scott Gillman took the chequered flag after capturing the pole position after Saturday’s qualifying rounds. He completed the 45-lap race more than eight seconds ahead of the runner-up, Italian Guido Cappellini, an eight-time world champion.

The victory enabled Gillman to take his fourth title this season and stay in the lead in the overall rankings in the tournament.

Another Italian Francesco Cantando was third in a race which saw only 12 of the 20 participating boats manage to finish on Sunday while the rest were forced to quit due to technical problems.

Yet in the eyes of F1 powerboat promoter Nicolo di San Germano, the honours on the day did not belong only to the drivers on the podium.

“I’d say Shanghai is the fourth winner,?he said, referring to the city’s impressive hosting of the event as well as the public’s enthusiasm for the sport.

While the city had only two months to make it all happen, a crowd estimated at 13,000 showed up to watch the race from makeshift stands along both sides of the river. Even drivers on the elevated highway near the Bund slowed down their vehicles to take a brief view of the hair-raising show.

The event, with Shanghai’s skyline as a spectacular backdrop, was broadcast to over 100 countries and regions, with an overall audience of 800 million, according to tournament organizers.

“It’s not only a fantastic show of powerboat racing; it well demonstrates Shanghai’s image of an international metropolis,?said Li Ruilin, vice president of Chinese Motorboat Association and member of F1 committee under the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique), the sport’s world governing body.

And powerboat racing on the Huangpu River is merely the latest demonstration of what is becoming known as “scenery sports?as a string of eye-catching sporting events have previously been staged around the city.

Last month’s DTM (Deutsche Touring Meisterschaffe) race held in Pudong’s Lujiazui area, for example, was a headline event for local media.

Similarly, the parachute jumps from the 420-metre Jinmao Tower last October reportedly kept an audience of 300,000 absorbed through a Sunday afternoon.

Then there was the Dragonboat racing on Suzhou Creek, a beach volleyball competition on Nanjing Lu and an international marathon foot race on the Bund.

“We’ve only just begun to explore the possibilities to host more sporting events around the city’s famous scenic spots which we believe will help better promote Shanghai’s image,?said an organizer.

However, experts have cautioned that major sporting events also pose other difficulties which affect the work of the city and which may become a headache for local government decision makers.

Last weekend’s event on the Huangpu River meant that more than 80 regular ferry runs across the river were cancelled and scores of bus routes had to make changes to their routes and schedules over the two days of racing.

Moreover, as the Bund was closed and packed with spectators, tens of thousands of tourists weren’t able to go sightseeing as they may have wished.