Reunions and Rehabilitated Residences

A primary reason for visiting Qingdao was to reunite with fellow foreign teachers who were placed on Huangdao, a city 30 minutes away by ferry.  The first night of the visit we stayed at a hostel called the YHA Old Observatory because it used be an observatory.  It's set on a hill top and has an amazing view of the city not to mention unlimited beer and free barbecue on weekends.  Some of the old astronomy equipment is still there so on clear nights you can gaze up in to the sky.

 Image courtesy of GraemeNicol via Flickr

I really appreciate the city's rehabilitation of historically significant buildings for use.  They do a good job of it. The next hostel we stayed at was Kaiyue Hostel closer to downtown.  It used to be an old church.  This was my favorite of the two. Check out more pictures on their website here.

 Image courtesy of Beijing07.wordpress.com

The private rooms are retro-fitted with pre-fab bathrooms that are kinda cool.

Here is an example of one of the private rooms.  We stayed in the triple.

Image courtesy of Kaiyue Hostel

 Image courtesy of Kaiyue Hostel

Staying at a hostel in China is surprisingly comfortable and affordable. They are a growing lodging trend  so many are newly renovated compared to low-budget hotels.  Also, the staff is usually competent in English and you will meet other traveling foreigners instead of Chinese tour groups. However, I would still recommend paying a little extra for the bathrooms ensuite.

The next evening we took the ferry across the bay to Shandong University on Huangdao for one last dinner. One thing that's great about eating with a lot of people is that you can order a lot of food.  The Shandong cuisine is mild in flavor and not too spicy with a focus on seafood.

From left to right: Lizzy, Jamie, Seth, Luke, Ryan, Jesse, Me, and Jim.

Qingdao: A Thirsty City

One tell-tale sign of culture is what the people eat, or in Qingdao's case--what people drink.   Although Qingdao's economy is it's beer industry, there is also wine street and coffee and tea art street.    I wasn't too surprised to see wine street, as China's wine consumption has risen dramatically over the past decade along with its westernization but my beloved coffee is still an emerging market.  Most cities will still practice the 2 hour siesta lunch break during the day so a jump start of caffeine is not always necessary.

Image courtesy of ilombardo via travelpod

Image courtesy of echinacities.com

I love Qingdao already but if it becomes a pioneer of the coffee market as well, I think I may have to stake out a summer home one day in this beach town, but I digress. We didn't have time to do coffee and tea art or wine street.

The heart of Qingdao is it's beer industry which was established by the Germans with the completion of a brewery.

The Chinese have taken great pride in their Tsingtao. Below are some of the many varieties available including the Black stout and limited edition Olympic cans with cartoons that make it look slightly more like soda for kids than beer.

The new brewery is built right next to the old brewery which is now a museum.

 One of the exhibits is the "drunken house" which is definitely more than just a slanted room.  My theory is that it must sway ever so slightly because I felt a fool in that place.

 Overall, the brewery/museum is pretty interesting and well laid out though it doesn't top the Guinness Storehouse Brewery in design and free beer. You get two 4  oz. samples of Tsingtao draft and Tsingtao unfiltered plus a pack of Chinese-style, sweet beer nuts.  The best part of the museum is the final beer hall where you can watch awkward tour groups get wasted.  To the side their is also a booth where you can personalize your own beer bottle with your picture. The Chinese are so vain--especially when it comes to wedding pictures and glamor shots.

If you've read my earlier posts, you might notice that I have a penchant for taking pictures of sewer caps.  This is because every sewer cap in each city is unique and personalized for that city.  According to my mother, sewer caps are sometimes stolen and sold as scrap metal.  If there is a name on the sewer cap, it makes it harder to hock on the black market. 

The Qingdao sewer cap for Beer Street outside of the brewery is so cute!  However, I worry that this might target children in its advertisement of beer.

Qingdao is also really good for seafood. Along Beer Street restaurants will have their catches of the day displayed right when you walk in so you can take your pick.  There's nothing like fresh seafood with beer on a hot summer day.

We continued our appreciation of Qingdao's beverages on the beach where they sell beer by the liter. This is No. 1 Bathing Beach, one of the prettiest beaches along the coast.

Yes, it was a good day and my thirst for travel has been sufficiently quenched for the moment.

Beyond Beer and Beaches

 

 

 Fellow travelers, if you are ever in China do not overlook the city of Qingdao. The hype of China's larger cities or more historical sights of temples and tombs may sometimes dominate the foreign perspective.  However, Qingdao is a place removed from the hustle of urbanity yet lifted from substandard living conditions that can plague many quieter destinations.  It is actually one of China's cleanest and most laid-back cities.  Additionally, it has its own eclectic presentation of historical sights.

Qingdao used to be spelled  Tsingtao and has China's largest brewery for Tsingtao beer which was established by the Germans in 1903.  Before the Germans were ousted by the Japanese, they built a impressive amount of European style buildings.  The most famous is probably Ying Binguan or the Guest House which was originally the German governor's home and then afterward served to host many dignitaries like Mao Ze Dong.  However, although it looks European--a closer inspection will reveal it's Chinese undertones.

For example, I was amused by these hideous fluorescent bulbs retrofitted on to this antique chandelier.

Also, the Chinese features in this art piece is a good example of Christianity emerging in China. Could she be a Chinese Virgin Mary of sorts?

What a lovely view from the balcony! It even looks slightly Mediterranean.

The nightlife in Qingdao is very western and dominated by American and Korean hip-hop.  In fact, Qingdao  has one of China's largest Korean populations, second to Beijing.  My favorite place out of three is called Club 88 which is located in the bar district xiang gang hua yuan, translated as Hong Kong Garden.  For some reason they were strict with pictures, but I snapped a few anyways.  The interiors are old-world eclectic with giant chandeliers that parade across the ceiling and wood paneling on the walls and in the bathrooms. Although  the toilets are the squatting kind, a bathroom attendant keeps the facility clean and presentable---a minor accomplishment in China. 

A DJ booth is set-up behind the bar where props like type-writers and Tiffany lamps finish off the atmosphere.

 It's common to have live entertainment in most night venues so stages were setup in the middle and front of the place.  Performers will do covers of other artists as well as introduce their own songs.  Lady Gaga's music is extremely popular at the moment as is the Korean pop group, Wonder Girls.  Check out their "Nobody But You" video; it is totally inspired by the movie Dream Girls.

Around the corner at Feeling Bar the crowd is ruined by sweaty old men.  Go for the giant trampoline inset within the dance floor that assists Chinese people with no rhythm to bounce in unison with the music.  Avoid buying bottles, not only because its expensive ( you do get a Russian import after all) but because the mixers you get with your vodka is a rip-off.  I would expect at least a better disguise of their vending machine bottles and cans.  Stick with Tsingtao in Qingdao.

I liked the graffiti on the street that leads to our hostel. (Pardon the blurry picture.   I will blame it on my camera's slow shutter speed but after a night out it could also be something else)

In the morning, we noticed the stenciling looked to be of the British graffiti artist, Banksy.  Banksy is famous for unique spin on street art by incorporating realism with cheeky social commentary.   Read more about him on webUrbanist here and check out his gallery here.  It would be amazing if he had also passed through these parts and left his mark.

I was really impressed with Qingdao. I knew there would be beer and beaches, but I did not expect the interesting fusion and influence of culture that culminated in that city.  Our primary reason for visiting Qingdao was to visit the other teachers teaching in the area.  I got so much more than I was looking for with the city's pop culture and laid-back atmosphere.  See the following posts for what else happened that weekend including of course beer and beaches.

Rock Solid Rock Steady

China's Great Wall is an example of ambition and determination. It is a feat of great sacrifice yet far-reaching vision as well. 30 minutes away from Qinhuangdao is Shanhaiguan, an ancient stronghold guarding the first pass under the Great Wall. Not far from that is Laolongtao, (Old Dragon's Head) the very beginning of the Great Wall at the sea.

One misty weekend the other foreign language teachers at my school and I took a trip to the Great Wall.  Rebecca teaches Russian and is from Kyrgyzstan.  She's younger than I am but light years ahead in terms of maturity level and is married to a Chinese man. It has been very interesting to hear her perspective of the current political situation in Kyrgyzstan and her cultural hopes for her future family in China as an immigrant.  It's funny because at first glance, she appears to be the foreigner in China when in fact she is the local showing me the ropes.  Rebecca is brilliant with languages and speaks fluent Russian and English.  Having lived in China awhile, I would say her Mandarin is better than mine and she is currently also learning Japanese.  Satoh teaches Japanese and is from the island of Hokaido, Japan.  She is inspirational in the way that she defies the norm for older woman in Asia. She loves to travel and decided to teach abroad instead when the Japanese school system required her to retire.

This is TianXiaDiYuGuan, an important watch tower.  The guards would shoot arrows out of the holes in the window covers.

 As an American I feel awfully spoiled most of the time by a sense of entitlement and a bit foolish for not speaking more languages fluently.  Rebecca basically served as the translator that day.  What a funny trio we must have been.  If nothing else, one thing that China has made me realize is to take things more slowly.  Although life may seem to be moving too quickly at times,  each day adds a portion--a block to a larger picture.   This visit to an ancient landmark with two very steady personalities struck a contemplative chord within me.