Qingdao, China

Wednesday, February 20, 2019      Qingdao, China

Qingdao (population 8 million) was a once a small fishing village that was conceded to the Germans in 1898 as compensation for the killing of two German missionaries in a local church.  Although Japanese seized the city in 1914, the German legacy remains.

 Qingdao is also a popular resort; tourists from all over China flock here for the beaches and mild climate. A large Korean population is here adding to the town’s cosmopolitan flavor. The sail boat portion of the 2010 Olympics was held here, leaving a modern sailing center to visit. Sometimes called the Venice of the East, Qingdao is surrounded by water on three sides and green hills on the other.  

                                                             What a modern port!

After a quick breakfast, Larry and I headed out of the long, long port terminal….a  chilly one mile walk. It was great to see the people transporters or moving walkways in operation….we had been warned that they only worked one way. We found them to work both ways….coming and going. 

                     The bus drive into the city showed us a HUGE smog problem that China is having!

We caught the shuttle bus, a twenty minute ride into the town, seeing a mixture of skyscrapers and old buildings pass by.

Our drop off point

Upon getting dropped off we walked about a mile down the busy city street passing an open air food court with all kinds of unusual tidbits to experience; only we weren’t brave enough to attempt….

                                 This little alley  lead to a display of local cuisine. 

                                                                        octopus

Qingdao is known for the Lu cuisine which has an emphasis on seafood with a salty, crispy flavor in foods. Bao (quick fry in very hot oil over high heat) is a common preparation method in Lu cuisine.   We saw much of this in the open air food stalls.

                                  I never thought of eating a star fish, they are too beautiful!

all kinds of seashell succulents, sea cucumbers, prawns, and scallops. We were told to look out for the pig intestines, a favorite among the locals. Yuck! They eat everything here!

                           I actually learned how to make these....Larry loves them!

                                              These are the largest shrimp I have ever seen!

Soup or a belly buster?

                                                  Steamers...cookware for the dumplings

                                                  Either  fruit or vegetable kabobs...take a guess!

              This street was a ride on the wild side of food available to the Qingdao community!

We saw (through the smog) the Protestant Church (1910) with German influence sitting on a little hill above the city.

                                                   Statues commemorating  the German immigrants

Onward we hiked down for 20 minutes….a good mile…where we crossed the street through a tunnel of food and local venders. From there we walked out onto the beach to Qingdao Bay.

 Did I mention the smog was so thick that you could not see the oriental building, Huilan Pavilion, out on the 1,500 ft Zhaoqiao Pier, one of the city’s most iconic features?  It's just over my left shoulder! 

You could actually taste the chemicals in the air. We were told that the smog is at its worst during the winter months due to heating the tall apartment buildings.

From there we walked along the seaside to our destination, Luxur Park. 

We observed the locals out picking at the rocks at low tide for the tiny shells that they were steaming and selling for folks to eat. 

Larry and I tried these little critters once in Taiwan a couple of years ago. It was not our choice of a grand snack….being very, very salty. 

                                               We passed Dutch architecture along our walk.

We walked on for about an hour passing by the numerous boats docked out in the sea and the China Navy Museum. We had a nice little picnic lunch while watching the local fishermen.

                               The terrain changed drastically as we headed north along the coast.

The front entrance into Luxur Park

 After hiking through the park, we hailed a taxi and headed back to the bus.

Before getting on the bus we stopped to warm up. Did I mention it was a cool 35 degrees with a crisp little wind that would blast us when walking between buildings and crossing the street?

 We had the local liquid refreshment….Tsingtao Beer. German settlers built the brewery here in 1903, now the oldest brewery in China as well as the most popular Chinese beer in the US.

Larry and I hopped onto the shuttle bus arriving back at the ship at 3:00pm so glad to go to our warm, toasty room. As we are heading north, our day in Qingdao had been the coldest day that we had experienced so far on this adventure.