Shanghai, China's largest city is getting ready to host the country's first-ever formula one race in September and offering low-priced tickets to watch Michael Schumacher and other top participants.

Watching Schumacher and his friends cruise around the local track will cost slightly less than anywhere else on the circuit this year, organisers of the event have claimed.

Prices range from 160 Yuan to watch practice on September 24 or the qualifiers, the next day, to 3,700 Yuan for top seats overlooking the finish line for three days.

Seats for the race alone range from 330 Yuan, for spot on the grass along the outside corner of the track, to 2,200 Yuan for prime seats under an enclosure.

"Our tickets are relatively cheaper than the other 17 events on the F-1 tour around the world," General Manager of Shanghai International Circuit Co Ltd., Mao Xiaohan said.

Tickets for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur in March, by comparison, run from 50 US dollars to 467 US dollars, the people's daily website said.

Organisers have decided to sell tickets for only 150,000 of the local circuit's 200,000 seats due to concerns about safety and transportation to the circuit, which is located 30 km away in the city's northwestern suburbs.

Tickets will go on sale early next month on the internet or through various ticketing agencies in the city and around the world, organisers said.

The scheme made public over the weekend didn't include VIP tickets, usually valued at above 3,000 US dollars, which are directly managed by the London-based F-1, who holds the commercial rights for the F-1 championship series.