Ever since I arrived in China I’ve wanted to visit Qingdao, and finally got the opportunity this past weekend when I decided to skip my Monday class and go with my friend Serena for a little bit of a vacation.
Qingdao was a German colony for about twenty years during the early 1900’s, and despite having a relatively short period of control, Qingdao retains many aspects of German culture, the most famous of which being Tsingtao beer (pronounced the same way as Qingdao), which is the most famous beer in China and I believe the only that’s exported, or at least the only one worth exporting.
Qingdao is also an historically important city in China, both in ancient and modern times. It’s coastal location has always made it an important and desirable sea port. Qingdao, as well as the rest of Shandong, was given to the Japanese as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI, which ignited a nationalist movement in China known as the May 4th Movement, a critical turning point in modern Chinese politics and history. Check out the wiki article on Qingdao for a more in depth understanding.
The former German Governor's Mansion in Qingdao, not all it's built up to be in the guidebook, but a perfect example of the German architecture still present in the Qingdao Old Town.
Shifu explains how one eats starfish (not a fan, but at least I tried it!) while a plethora of other sea dwelling creepy crawlies are on display at a sea side cafe.
Oysters!!! I think if I had to I could probably live on seafood alone, and Qingdao has no shortage.
Ahh, fresh air! It's been stifling hot in Liaocheng recently, and what with all the dust and pollution, Qingdao was a welcome respite.
The Qingdao lifestyle is a far cry from that of Liaocheng. The warm summer air coupled with the cool breeze that floats in from the ocean makes for a wonderfully refreshing change of pace. Serena and I spent our weekend cruising around the city on rented bikes, consuming beer and oysters by the seashore, and simply loving life. I plan to come back to China and teach English after I graduate college, and I’ve always assumed that I would go back to Kunming in Yunnan province, but my short time in Qingdao has brought that assumption into question. I might even go as far to say that Qingdao is my new favorite Chinese city, and the small taste of life here has made the prospect of a whole month in Liaocheng hard to swallow. But in the end I realize the value of being able to make a life for myself in Liaocheng, where I am forced not only to speak and read Chinese to survive, I can’t help but feel a wee bit of pride in my ability to do so. Afterall, I suppose that that’s what this journey of mine is all about, leaping out of my comfort zone just to see if I can make it out alive.
The Otherside 
June 6, 2010 at 6:29 am
Hi ! First off, thanks for your blog, always a delight to read when new posts come in.
I was a little bit surprised by your title “The Switzerland of China” … There you have a Swiss guy who happens to speak basic Chinese, loves most aspects of China, been there 4 times, and has many Chinese friends (which makes it pretty hard for me to be here rather than in China, but that’s another story).
I must say that Switzerland is still very nice, on many aspects like its health care systems which still works a hell better than in China (or the US for that matter), but on other subjects, Switzerland has recently become less secure, and to a certain extent, less “clean” compared to 10 or 20 years ago … So I can’t help but wonder, have you EVER been to Switzerland ? If not, what suggested this title ?
Second, when you say : “(about Qingdao beer) which is the most famous beer in China and I believe the only that’s exported, or at least the only one worth exporting”. – Well, that’s for sure the most exported beer, but I must say it’s not my preferred beer. I much more enjoy drinking 燕京 beer (Beijing Yanjing), but since Beijing’s my favourite city in China, I’m sort of biased 😉 Unfortunately, it’s not available over here in Switzerland … At least I’ve never found one on a Chinese restaurant’s menu.
Keep up the good work !
June 6, 2010 at 10:39 am
Hey Zima, thanks for reading! To think my little blog has made it all the way to Switzerland. The truth is I’ve never been to Switzerland, (but I hear good things!) and the title of the blog post comes from the description of Qingdao in which they say that Qingdao is informally known as the Switzerland of China. If you’ve been to Qingdao you know that the old part of town in fact does resemble a European city in many ways, but still retains its Chinese identity.
I’ve never even heard of Beijing Nanjing, but I’ve only spent about two weeks in total in Beijing, and most of that time was three years ago when with a gap year program that didn’t allow me to drink. Tell me about this beer…is it dark? That’s what I miss the most. Qingdao has a stout, but I’ve never had it.
June 7, 2010 at 12:01 pm
En … Pretty hard to describe this “Yan Jing” (not “Nan Jing” which refers to other things indeed 😉 I’d say it’s a little bit “stronger” than the Qingdao beer, but still pretty light compared to other ones I’ve tried. I’m more a red wine drinker so I’m probably not a reference regarding beers … But I like this Yan Jing beer you can easily find in Beijing (and probably on many other spots in China, to a lesser extent).
I see what you mean by “Euro-style” houses, although I’ve never been to Qingdao, I’ve been to other places in China where one can find Euro houses, like the French concession in Shanghai, or in Macao. Of course to us Europeans, looking at those houses is pretty much the same as bumping into laowais when we’re in China : pretty boring ! 😉 My mother tongue is French (hence the bad English, sorry !), and it’s really a pain in the ass when I come across French-speaking people while I’m abroad … It sort of “spoils” my vacation 😉 Well, in Beijing, where I happen to go quite often on vacation, when I’m not stuck working here in Switzerland, there’s still not too many French-speaking people, provided you go to San Li Tun or other “hype” places packed with laowais … Most of the time I try to avoid laowai tourists locations, and that’s still pretty easy in Beijing when you know the city a little bit more than just “Tian An Men” or “Tian Tan” or whatever …
I was sincere about the delightful moments I spend reading your posts, you’re so lucky to be in China ! Can’t wait to get there again.
Cheers,
Z
June 8, 2010 at 12:46 am
Ahhh and here I am thinking how nice it was to meet people that I could share some of my own thoughts with a little better. I’m the kind of
that needs to talk (or write) in order to fully understand an experience, especially if the person you’re talking to is sharing a similar experience. There are times when running into another American can be mighty disappointing. This past weekend I overheard to American girls competing over who lived in the dirtiest Chinese city, who had the worst experience on the train (The bed’s are so hard and all the Chinese people kept trying to talk to me!!!! I was like, I don’t understand you!) Shit like that does ruin it for me a bit.
I guess the other thing is that right now I don’t really think of China as a vacation for me. Even when I take off to Qingdao for a bit of relaxation, I’m still soaking in as much as I can in order to better understand this crazy place. In fact, I think in some respects I’m working harder than I do at home (which doesn’t mean it isn’t fun!) With all that stuff swimming around in my head, I like to talk to someone who can relate in order to grab onto some fleeting thought, and hold on to it.
June 8, 2010 at 8:31 am
Well, drop me an e-mail with an e-mail address where I can reach you, and we’ll be able to get a little deeper into this, with pleasure 😉
Best Regards from Switzerland !
June 15, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Can you describe what eating starfish is like? Is it similar to biting and chewing a brick?
June 16, 2010 at 12:09 am
You actually don’t eat the outer part, you peel back the hard shell and eat the meat inside, which is really unpleasant, sort of crumbly and mushy at the same time.
June 27, 2010 at 1:30 pm
If you like Qingdao, try Chengdu, Sichuan. People there are as relaxed as ever. In fact, store owners often leave their jobs during the middle of a working day to play majohn at some lakeside bar. No kidding. And the air is nice too. People who go there won’t want to leave.
Kunming? Been there once, and never want to again :S
June 27, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Ive been both to Chengdu and Kunming, and I actually had the exact opposite reaction. I lived in Kunming for about six weeks three years ago, and only spent a couple days in Chengdu, so I might not have gotten a good read on it. Both are considered two of the more livable cities in China, at least by foreigner standards. Kunming has a great arts scene, as well as amazing natural scenery in reach of the city. I might be going back to Chengdu before I leave…if I have time.
September 19, 2010 at 9:23 am
Loved your post. I lived in Qingdao for a year. Great place! Not too big and not too small and there’s great food there (like you mentioned). It’s great when people go to China, or any country, and keep an open mind about it rather than focusing on the negatives. I like that you’re enjoying the experience!