Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao. Shandong Province, China.

August, 2009.

When I look back on my first stretch of travel in China there is a place that stands above the rest as my outright favourite. A location that gets me even more nostalgic and damp-eyed than usual.

In fact, so taken was I with the coastal city of Qingdao that it ended up serving as my base in Shandong. A locale I could happily return to after completing various mini-adventures around the province.

First, Qingdao was by far the most handsome city I’d visited up to that point. I loved the unique and curious mix of traditional Chinese and German architecture. Yes, you read that correctly, German. That’s because the city stood under German control between 1897 and 1914. And there are `plenty of preserved colonial buildings on display throughout the downtown area.

Delightfully, I even got to stay in one such building when I booked myself into the Old Observatory Youth Hostel. Used in the early 1900s to study star and weather patterns, the building and its leafy surrounds has bags of charm and proved a peaceful spot from which to rest and reflect after a day’s adventuring.

Its rooftop terrace provided wonderful views over the city. Moreover, the hostel common room, complete with an original 19th century telescope, was a fantastic place to nap, read or play cards.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

What’s more, the hostel enjoys a gorgeous location in a woody neighbourhood near Guangxianshan Park. Every morning local seniors would come with their pet birds to sit outside the hostel and read their newspapers.

Numerous churches have also survived those colonial days. One of these, Christ’s Church, presides over a public square on Zhejiang Road. Built by missionaries in the Romanesque revival style, this castle-like structure doesn’t get much tourist action. Hence I had the bell tower all to myself one afternoon and was surprised to discover that services (sometimes in English) still take place on Sundays.

In truth though it was the gothic St. Michael’s (Qingdao Catholic Church) that I have the fondest memories of. Which is surprising considering I didn’t even get to go inside. Constructed in 1934, its twin spires make for a unique and characterful addition to the city skyline.

On the day of my visit, the disappointment of finding the place closed was soon tempered by the numerous photo shoots unfolding around the square. Unwittingly, I had timed my stay for the height of wedding season. In China it’s customary for the bride and groom to do wedding photos weeks or even months prior to the big day.

St. Michael’s Cathedral.

In Qingdao the cathedral is one of the most popular wedding shoot spots. Amusingly, there were clusters of groups stationed around the square, one of which sat patiently awaiting their turn in front of St. Michael’s. They were incredibly friendly, despite not speaking a word of English between them. And more than happy to pose for a photo.

They weren’t the only friendly ones. Rather than the usual open-mouthed staring, scowls of disapproval and manic photo requests, in Qingdao I felt a genuine warmth from locals. It was there in the face of the cheerful taxi driver that took me down to the beach one day.

It positively glowed from a woman I met in Badaxia Park one evening. She was showing off her well-trained pet poodle who could perform a variety of impressive tricks. Clocking my delight, she approached grinning and clapping, directing her beloved canine to aim its act in my direction.

Another string to Qingdao’s bow was its vibrant city beaches. Truly, I had never seen anything like it. Nor have I, come to think of it, in the fifteen plus years that have since passed. I’ve gotta be honest and admit that none of the city centre beaches were particularly beautiful.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

Rather, Qingdao’s sands gave me an intoxicating and often bemusing crash course in Chinese beach culture. Take Beach Number 1, for example, where I had to revise my understanding of the word crowded.

Much to my amusement, I realised that the vast majority of Chinese people can’t swim. Indeed many didn’t even go into the sea, while those that did (children and adults alike) wore giant rubber rings. You could hardly walk two or three steps without tripping over a discarded inflatable ring.

Furthermore, it was striking that absolutely nobody was sunbathing. Most Chinese folk want their skin to be as white as possible and are terrified of the effects of the sun. As a result, there were thousands of people sitting in tents and huddled under umbrellas.

Elsewhere, the few who did sit directly in the sun took care to cover parts of their legs, arms and shoulders with sand.

Wherever I went the noise was deafening, with kids galore shrieking as they played, splashed and chased each other. In turn, parents bellowed at their children nonstop. Stop doing this! Quit doing that! Be careful! Come here!

Several mums and dads meanwhile excitedly waved and pushed their kids in front of me, keen for their little ones to say hello to their first in-the-flesh foreigner.

Beach Number 1.

The littering was baffling to me. All around my feet there was trash: ice cream wrappers, soft drink cans, band aids, you name it. Here and there I came across a beach cleaner with a yellow sack slung over his shoulder. While it was great that someone was attempting to keep things respectable, I could see that they were fighting a losing battle.

Although a million miles away from what I consider a charming beach experience, I couldn’t help but smile at the general chaos and chuckle at some of the amusing scenes unfolding around me. “Look I’m sorry, but I just can’t find it”. 

And then there was Muscle Beach, where local beefcakes come to work out. They took themselves very seriously.

My favourite beach experience came further out of the centre. Eventually, the crowds largely thinned out and I was able to breathe in, think, sit and listen to the waves coming in. Heck, I even managed a brief swim.

There were more wedding photo shoots. So I sat watching one couple getting their photos done as they performed their various poses by the water’s edge.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

Having had an incredible experience climbing Mount Tai earlier in the trip, I was delighted to discover that Qingdao had its own mountain. Thus one afternoon I set off on a hike up the pretty Xinhao Shan Park.

Its name translates as Signal Hill Park, a reference to the fact that this is where occupying German forces once manned a naval signal station. Thankfully the climb was nowhere near as demanding as it had been at Mount Tai. At the top, I got to enter the observation tower, a rotating hexagonal pavilion.

Photo courtesy of 风之清扬.

Back in the city I decided to visit one of China’s most historic breweries. Once again the Germans were involved, opening the joint in 1903. This is the home of Tsingtao beer, a traditional German brew made using local Chinese ingredients.

The brewery has certainly had an interesting history. In 1914, during the First World War, the Japanese seized control of it. Adopting the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mantra, they continued German brewing practices until the end of World War II when Japanese occupation finally came to an end.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

With the brewery under Chinese control for the first time, the government quickly moved to nationalise the company. In 2003 today’s Beer Museum opened onsite as part of Tsingtao’s 100th anniversary celebrations. My self-guided brewery tour meanwhile was a somewhat typical but fun affair.

There was bottle top art and a look inside a Quality Control Lab where white-coated workers tinkered, stirred and sipped from jugs of beer. Not the worst job in the world I’m guessing. Elsewhere I had a good laugh in the Drunken House where magnetic forces pull visitors from wall to wall.

In any case Beer Street was a fun and kooky experience with its carnival atmosphere and gaudy neon signs. “The birthplace of beer culture!”  exclaimed one sign, which seems dubious to say the least.  “Tsingtao beer can give you passion and happiness!” trumpets another.

Yet another reason I’m so fond of Qingdao is that it was home to one of my all-time favourite bars. Granted I have never been much of a drinker, nor indeed a partier. But the Beatles-themed Lennon Bar was so fantastic it became the setting for several wonderful nights that will live long in the memory.

As a lifelong Beatles addict I was in love with the place the moment I walked in. Decked out in Fab Four art and memorabilia, a Filipino house band knocked out raucous versions of just about any Beatles song you could hope to hear.

I soon befriended the band, a lovely bunch of guys who were happy to grant song requests and chat with me during intermissions.

And so Lennon Bar became a place where friends were made over shared life stories and a love for music of all genres. In addition to the band I also got to know the owner, a local man called Steven. And Fergal, an Irish traveller I’d met back at the hostel.

Lennon Bar.

I enjoyed another Lennon Bar evening with Sam, an Australian I met at Kaiyue Hostel where I spent a few nights while The Old Observatory was fully booked. Sam and I met a group of Chinese men that evening who were on a company drinks night.

Pissed out of their minds, they insisted on sharing their beer and barbecued meats with us. I’m not sure I have ever eaten or drunk as much as I did that night and my hangover was fierce the following morning.

Above all, I will always remember Lennon Bar as the venue where I got to live out my rock star dreams. Encouraged and fully backed by the band, I stepped up to take lead vocals on several Beatles tracks, including my signature karaoke song Don’t Let Me down.

Once Upon a Time in Qingdao.

I was sad beyond words when, some years later, I read that Lennon Bar had closed. The last I heard a restaurant stood in its place. For more details on my Lennon Bar nights, and indeed Qingdao in general, check out my short stories Don’t Let Me Down and The Jellyfish Factor. Both tales come from my collection Challenged in China!

Like this? Why not leaf through my many location reports from around Shandong Province.

Or dig into many more travel articles from all around China.

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