Travel plans - Qingdao for the
The Canadian and I are going to Qīngdǎo 青岛, Shandong Province this weekend for the Dragon Boat long weekend - although I think we're also supposed to be eating 粽子zòngzi as well :)
青 (qīng) means "green" or "lush" and 岛 (dǎo) means "island." Apparently it was recently named China's 9th-most livable city by the China Daily. Hee hee.
It is the homeplace of Tsing Tao Beer.
During the German occupation, it was known as "TsingTao". In 1897 Qingdao 青岛 was ceded to Germany and it was administered by Reichsmarineamt (the Department of the Navy). The Germans based their Far East Squadron in Qingdao, allowing their fleet to conduct operations throughout the Pacific. It was the German Imperial government who planned and built the first streets and institutions of Qingdao 青岛 - including the Tsingtao Brewery which everyone visits :)
In 1914, Japan occupied the city and the surrounding province during the Siege of Tsingtao following Japan's declaration of war on Germany in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. China got the city back in 1922 but then Japan re-occupied Qingdao 青岛 in 1938. China got the city back on 2 June 1949 and the city and the province have been under PRC control since then. I think it's quite a small city but we're both hoping for a very peaceful weekend rather than a frantic weekend of running around.
When I went to Harbin 哈尔滨 in 2006, I commented that the architecture was a combination of Chinese and Russian. In Qingdao 青岛, it's supposed to be a combination of German and Chinese architecture in the city centre and there is a very large Korean expat population. Qingdao 青岛 is apparently the city with the most Korean investment enterprises in China. Qingdao 青岛 will also be hosting a few of the Olympic events.
According to the travel guides, we're supposed to see:
Eight Passes Villas
Zhan Bridge
Wusi Square
Mount Laoshan
Someone has put up a nice little gallery of Qingdao photos here.
青 (qīng) means "green" or "lush" and 岛 (dǎo) means "island." Apparently it was recently named China's 9th-most livable city by the China Daily. Hee hee.
It is the homeplace of Tsing Tao Beer.
During the German occupation, it was known as "TsingTao". In 1897 Qingdao 青岛 was ceded to Germany and it was administered by Reichsmarineamt (the Department of the Navy). The Germans based their Far East Squadron in Qingdao, allowing their fleet to conduct operations throughout the Pacific. It was the German Imperial government who planned and built the first streets and institutions of Qingdao 青岛 - including the Tsingtao Brewery which everyone visits :)
In 1914, Japan occupied the city and the surrounding province during the Siege of Tsingtao following Japan's declaration of war on Germany in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. China got the city back in 1922 but then Japan re-occupied Qingdao 青岛 in 1938. China got the city back on 2 June 1949 and the city and the province have been under PRC control since then. I think it's quite a small city but we're both hoping for a very peaceful weekend rather than a frantic weekend of running around.
When I went to Harbin 哈尔滨 in 2006, I commented that the architecture was a combination of Chinese and Russian. In Qingdao 青岛, it's supposed to be a combination of German and Chinese architecture in the city centre and there is a very large Korean expat population. Qingdao 青岛 is apparently the city with the most Korean investment enterprises in China. Qingdao 青岛 will also be hosting a few of the Olympic events.
According to the travel guides, we're supposed to see:
Eight Passes Villas
Zhan Bridge
Wusi Square
Mount Laoshan
Someone has put up a nice little gallery of Qingdao photos here.