Qingdao, Tsingtao, the green island

Since I'm not a big beer drinker, I didn't connect the relationship between Tsingtao Beer and the Qingdao region in Shandong Province.  There is a silly beer review I found at another blog about Tsingtao Beer, which gave it a 9 out of 10 rating.  I still haven't tried it yet, but I plan to do so soon.

So why am I talking about Tsingtao Beer?  I'm wanted to take a break from Beijing and so I took the high speed train down to Qingdao!  Located at the coast south of Beijing and Tianjing, Qingdao used to be occupied by the Germans and the Danes, and still has a bit of a resort town feel to it.  The architecture is a mix of western mansions that are about 2 to 3 stories tall, juxtaposed with contemporary high-rise residential and commercial buildings, all looking out to the Yellow Sea.  Qingdao was a big shipping town, connecting to ports like Shanghai and further south.  Some general information about Qingdao is on this website. 

To be honest, I didn't know very much about Qingdao, the green island.  The only reason I even knew about Qingdao was because of the restaurant on Mass Ave.  It's one of the more authentic tasting places on the north side of Boston, and the owners are extremely friendly.  There was a large photograph of Qingdao hanging on the wall, showing western terra cotta roofs and a beautiful coast.  It didn't look like any Chinese city that I was familiar with. 

Conveniently, Hunter is from Qingdao and came to visit his family for the holidays, and I wanted to meet up with him and have him show me a few good spots in Qingdao.  It's Qing Ming Day tomorrow, which is when one pays respects to the dead.  Families burn paper money for the dead, and wakes up early and cleans the family grave.  Typically, only men attend these families affairs, and sometimes it is not permitted for women to participate in them.  I haven't participated in these family rituals for a long time, mainly because I have been in the Philippines, then US, for the last 20 years.  As I walked back to my hotel earlier tonight, I saw several people burning paper money for their ancestors. 

I wish I could share some photos, but my iPhone is still out of commission and I can't seem to transfer images from my cheap phone to my laptop.  Sigh.

There is a really long board walk along the beach (30 km?), with locals and tourists alike stroll up and down the coast.  I even saw a group of shirtless runners, which you would never see in Beijing.  And there were also people on tandem bikes, which I was envious of.  There were people playing beach volleyball, laying on the sandy beach, and eating ice cream.  This is so un-Chinese, I thought.  We were never taught to go sunbathing as kids, so that we would preserve our fair skin.  But the beach was packed with people, and soon I was also drawn to it.  Hunter bought some baked potatoes from a street vendor, and we sat on the beach eating them.  It reminded me of many years ago when my friend Dustin and I sat on the beach in Nice eating rotisserie chicken and baguette, watching the sunset.  All those good memories.  

Tomorrow I'm going to try to visit Laoshan, where there are some bouldering areas by the sea.  I'm a bit nervous, since I don't have a crash pad.  Plus Hunter has to stay home tomorrow with his family, so I don't even have a spotter.  I guess even if I don't get to boulder much, I will at least get to feel the texture of the rocks and enjoy the solitude.