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The Governor's Residence in Qingdao, Shandong, PRC
The Residence of the German Governor was constructed during the occupation by Germany in 1897. Located on one of the hills of Qingdao, it commads a wonderful city view, and there is no doubt, that it was planned by German architects, though built with Chinese labor. It resembles a Bavarian Hunting-Lodge.Qingdao is a smaller seaside city of 2 Million inhabitants on the N.E. sea-coast of Shandong Province, China. At the end of the 19th Century, an ambitious Germany was looking for a place in China to continue its colonial expansion. That moment arrived, when the Chinese Boxer Rebels killed two German Catholic priests in 1897. German troops were sent in to establish their presence in Qingdao, and the Chinese were compelled into a forced agreement to lease the surrounding Bay of Jiaozhou to Germany.
Before the first frigate arrived in the bay, Qingdao had been a quiet fishing village. But soon, German officers, sailors and traders were promenading up and down the "Kaiser Wilhelm Ufer". They dined in the luxurious, seafront "Prinz Heinrich Hotel" and drank beer from the "Germania Brewery", which later became known as the "Tsingtao Brewery".
Modern-day Qingdao is a clean city built among costal-hills and enjoys several wonderful beaches, inviting visitors to its shores during the hot summer months. It is a forward-thinking city, where modern entrepreneurs are successfully establishing a kind of miniature Shanghai.
During the 2008 Olympics, Qingdao hosted the sailing competitions and had been connected with the main Olympic venues in
Modern Qingdao, Shandong, PRC
The city is beginning to resemble a miniature Shanghai, and was the location for the sailing competitions during the 2008 Olympics. Note the Olympic Rings on the lower left, and the Olympic Torch standing tall on the lower right. Beijing by high-speed trains, travelling at some 200 miles an hour. The visitors and Olympic athletes travelled the distance between Beijing and Qingdao in little more than 2 hours, and the stretch continues to be a well-travelled route, ending at the shores of the Yellow Sea.
Sadly, my direct train from Taizhou to the colorful port of Qingdao was 'somewhat' slower, taking 11 hours, with frequent stops along the way, though in the comfort of a soft-sleeper train compartment, at a one-way cost of 286 RMB ($40.00).
I have wanted to visit Qingdao for some-time, and was finally encouraged by the commentary of Goetz, one of our two German Foreign Teachers at Taizhou Teachers College, who had recently visited this breezy, seaside city. He returned with tales of Qingdao's charms and its well-known beer, "Tsingtao Beer", first introduced by the German brew-masters in 1903, to help cure the homesickness of the resident German occupiers.......
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*****HISTORY NOTES, Tsingtao Beer:
"Pijiu" is the Chinese word for beer, and Tsingtao Beer is China's most famous beer. It is consumed all around China in great quantities.
The Tsingtao Brewery is China's largest, with exports to more than 50
Tsingtao Beer on a Table at Bayside, Miami, USA
A taste of China in Miami, USA, before the NBA Game between Miami Heat and Houston Rockets. Miami 99 and Houston 66 :-) countries, including the United States.
On my last visit to Miami, and before watching the NBA Basketball game between The Miami Heat and The Houston Rockets, I had several bottles of Tsingtao Beer at the Bayside Tourist Area, in the heart of Miami.
The Tsingtao Brewery was built by the beer-loving, German occupiers in 1903, and its magic taste is reputed to come from the mineral water from the Laoshan Mountains. Considered the best and most expensive beer in China, Tsingtao faces heavy competition from international breweries, who invest heavily in joint ventures in the fastest growing beer market in the world, China.
The city of Qingdao hosts its own Beer Festival each August, during which time huge quantities of beer are consumed. It is possible to visit the Jingtao Beer Brewery, but only in tour-groups.******
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.....Qingdao's legacy was established as a German Colonial City in 1897, and the city is still dotted with distinctive German-style houses with red-tiled roofs and stonework, some cobbled streets and tree-lined avenues. Walking the older sections of the city, one has the distinct impression of strolling through a Bavarian-style city.
Kaiser Wilhelm took over Qingdao after
The Grand Residence of the German Governor in Qingdao.
The Governor's Residence is one of the wonderful landmarks of Qingdao. Here the German Governors lived and entertained during the German Occupation from 1897-1914, till the beginning of WWI, when it was ceded to the Japanese. It is now used as part museum and part hotel. two German missionaries were killed during the "Boxer Rebellion", when a band of Chinese rebels from the north of China rose up to rid China of the "Foreign Devils". The Boxers were supported by the shrewd, Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi in Beijing. With her support, the rebel Boxers laid waste to Beijing's Foreign-Legation Quarter in 1900, and besieged the district's foreign population.
The siege was finally lifted by an eight-power allied force, including the British, French, Japanese, Americans, and the Germans. The Qing Dynasty government was forced to sign "The Boxer Protocol", which allowed the stationing of foreign troops in Beiing and other cities along the East of China.
The Qing Court, controlled by sly and crafty Cixi in Beijing, was forced to cede the city of Qingdao to Germany for 99 years, but it was returned to China in 1922, after eight years of additional Japanese occupation. The Japanese took over the port city again between 1938 and 1945, and the Chinese population suffered greatly during this brutal period of oppression......
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*****HISTORY NOTES, The Boxers and the Boxer Rebellion (1900):
Throughout the 19th Century, China's emperors watched as foreigners encroached further and
Interior of the Governor's Residence
The interior of this grand mansion of the German Governor has large rooms and beautiful views across the city of Qingdao. further upon their empire. Time and again, foreigners forced China to make humiliating concessions.
Great Britain, France, Japan, Russia, Italy, Austria, and Germany all claimed exclusive trading rights to certain parts of China, and they brutally enforced these rights. They were dividing China into "spheres of influence", in fact these foreign powers called it: "Dividing the large water-melon"! Some even claimed to own the territory within their spheres.
Of all these powers, the British and the French were the most greedy, establishing themselves as the largest "Drug-dealers" the world had ever seen. Forcing their exclusive right to import "Opium" from India into China, they turned hundreds of millions of Chinese into "Opium Addicts", making the British in China super-rich at the expense of a suffering Chinese population.
Two Opium Wars were successfully fought in China. Two victories against the Chinese Imperial Army solidified the British monopoly of the Opium trade in China. The Opium continued to flow into the large Chinese cities in huge quantities with impunity for the "British Colonial Drug Dealers". The number of the Chinese addicts was staggering and their suffering can only be imagined.
The Christian missionaries too, became a dominant "political
Boxers Drawing by Koekkoek, circa 1900
(This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain, because its copyright has expired.) force", and Catholic bishops had powers, that rivaled that of the foreign governors. Christian missionaries and their bishops used these powers not so much to serve God, but to create a "luxurious- and 'decadent' life" for themselves.
Beginning in 1898, groups of peasants in the Province of Shandong, already on the edge of starvation due to a devastating drought and dissatisfied with the corrupt Qing ruler in Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi, began to band together into a secret society known as the "Righteous and Harmonious Fists", called the "Boxers" by the Western press.
Its members practiced 'shadow-boxing' to strengthen their bodies and protect their spirits, believing it would make them impervious to bullets, (hence the nickname the "Boxers").
At first, the Boxers wanted to destroy the Qing Dynasty and its ruler, the former concubine, Cixi. The Qing Dynasty ruled China for almost 300 years, and they also wanted to rid China of all foreign influence. The Boxers considered the "Foreign Devils", as they called them, as a threat to Chinese culture. When the Empress Dowager finally backed the Boxers, after having sought to destroy them, the Boxers turned their hate solely to ridding China of foreigners.
Portrait of the Qing Dynasty Cixi, Imperial Dowager Empress of China in the 1900s
A cunning survivor, Dowager Empress Cixi squandered public funds to maintain a most luxurious life. First persecuting the Boxers, she later encouraged their bloody Rebellion and won the Boxer's support. Her actions began the downfall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and its last Emperor PuYi, leading to the Chinese Republic in 1911. (The image is in the public domain, because its copyright has expired.) By late 1899, bands of Boxers were massacring Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians. By spring 1900, the Boxer Rebellion had come out of the countryside, and blood was flowing in the capital of Peking (Beijing).
The Peking foreign legations came under siege and the situation seemed hopeless for the foreigners, of whom many had already died in the constant attacks by tens of thousands of Boxers. The siege lasted for 55 days.
(The movie with Charlton Heston about this period of Chinese history is called: "55 Days in Peking". The movie will make a lasting impression of this event. Also the movie "Sand Pebbles" with Steve McQueen deals with these troubled times in China.)
To help their fellow countrymen and to protect their interests in China, an International Force of 2,100 American, British, Russian, French, Italian, German, and Japanese soldiers, with overwhelming firing power and the most modern weapons, were sent to subdue the "Boxer Rebellion".
By decree on June 18, 1900, the cunning Empress Dowager, Cixi, ordered all foreigners to be killed. Several foreign ministers and their families were slaughtered, along with thousands of Christian Chinese, before the International Force could protect them.
On
Siege of Peking, Boxer Rebellion: "I'll Try, Sir"! Department of the Army Poster
Print(reproduction) of the original "I'll Try Sir," U.S. Army in Action historical painting, depicting the United States Army during the 14th August 1900 Allied Relief Expedition assault on the outer walls of Peking in China during the Boxer Rebellion.
(Copied from Wikimedia Commons, a freely licensed media file repository.) August 14, 1900, the International Force took Peking and brutally squashed the Boxer Rebellion, massacring the Boxers and looting and pillaging and burning the Imperial City of Peking, the Forbidden City and its spectacular palaces. Hundreds of train-loads of Chinese treasures and gold were ferried to the West.
The Boxer Rebellion weakened the Qing Dynasty's power, and it hastened the Republican Revolution of 1911, that overthrew the boy emperor, PuYi, and made China a Republic. (The epic movie: "The Last Emperor", will entertain you with this part of Chinese history).
'Till this day, the Chinese have not forgotten the untold misery brought upon them during this time of foreign occupation, and much of the mistrust by the Chinese against the Western Powers stems from this period of history! *****
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.....Qingdao's history can be enjoyed best by wandering the "German Concession" in the southwest of the town. Here the Germans constructed a traditionally styled train-station, equipped with a bellfry. My friend, Goetz, told me, that the train would travel directly between Qingdao and Berlin during the time of the German occupation.
Most of the sights in the German Concession can easily be visited on foot.
St. Michael's Catholic Church in Qingdao
Damaged during the Cultural Revolution, St. Micheal's Catholic Church has been completely restored, and occupies a prominent place in the old part of Qingdao. Dozens of Chinese couples now use the cobble stone square for their wedding photos every day. Services are still held every Sunday, and the interior of the church can be visited during that time. Sadly, I was there only on a Saturday, and could not enter. Though Qingdao is most famous for its beaches, the city is also abound with its relics of the colonial past, and many of the 19th Century, German-style buildings survive. Red-tiled roofs, half-timbered facades, sloping gables, and triangular attic windows become a common sight during a visitor's stroll through the cobble-stone streets. It gives the old city a distinctly Teutonic flavor.
Within walking distance lies the imposing Catholic "St. Michael's Church", whose tall, twin-spires rise over a part of town filled with steep cobbled streets and old style German villas. The surrounding plaza is a favorite location for shooting wedding photos by the young Chinese couples, as the inspiring, stone cathedral reaches toward the blue sky.
Another major Christian Cathedral, the charming "Protestant Church", painted sandy yellow, is also within walking distance. With distinctive South-German architecture, it was built in 1910. With a unique clocktower and white clockface, it rises 128ft (39m).
The "Governor's Residence" is another grand German structure, and was the official home of the appointed German governor. The imposing building has the air of a Prussian hunting lodge. It is now part museum and part hotel, and once played host Mao Zedong.
Not so
The Colors surrounding St.Michael's Church in Qingdao.
It is May, spring-time in Qingdao, and thousands of these blooming trees are to be seen all over the city of Qingdao. Some of them grace the plaza in front of St. Michael's Catholic Church. far away, on top of the highest geographical point of Qingdao, stands the first "Radio Station" in China, also opened during the German occupation. The 360 degree views from inside of its three large, red bubbles is made more spectacular by a rotating platform, offering wonderful city views, while sitting on chairs. One never needs to take a step in order to enjoy the 360 degree expansive panorama of Qingdao.
The "Qingdao TV Tower" also offers wonderful views across the city and far beyond. A one minute elevator ride whisks the visitor to the top, where a rotating restaurant offers a delicious meal. Qingdao is well-known for its sea-food fare.
Visitors to this lovely city can stroll down Qingdao's waterfront past its many famous beaches. No.1 Beach is the longest and busiest.
No.2 Beach is more attractive. Its clean stretch of yellow sand leads to the "Huashi Lou", a stone mansion with a turret, that was once the residence of a Rusian aristocrat. It will take days to walk the rest of the seven beaches along Qingdao's coast.
There is a modern promenade and a collection of parks along the Qingdao Bay to the North. It connects
The charming Protestant Church in Qingdao
The architecture of the Protestant Church in Qingdao is unmistakably German, and its size speaks of the numer of Germans who lived in Qingdao during the German Occupation. to the location, where the sailing events of the 2008 Olympics took place, The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center. The promenade, bordering the Yellow Sea, is lined with modern glass and steel sky-scrapers. Here, many of the world's grand luxury hotels pamper guests and businessmen from around the world, including my hotel, The Intercontinental Hotel.
The promenade connects to the "May 4th Square" with its much photograped and modern, red Olympic sculpture, which has become one of Qingdao's unique landmarks.
The "2008 Olympic Torch" stands tall along the waterfront, at the end of The Olympic Memorial Dock. The Olympic Torch is surrounded by the flags of the participating nations.
Opposite the Olympic Torch stand the "Five colorful and large Olympic Rings". These will continue to remind visitors of Qingdao's moment, as an Olympic City in 2008. Their colorful neon lights can be seen along the Promanade during the night, even from my hotel windows.
I truly enjoyed my all-to-quick journey to this wonderful city. But my visit to Qingdao was short, and there is still much to explore. I hope to make another, more extended visit to this lovely costal city again, and soon.
It has
The Train-station of Qingdao
When I stepped out of my train, I thought I had returned to Germany. It is a lovely building and from here, during the German Occupation, trains travelled directly to Berlin. taken much time and research to offer you this journey to Qingdao in Shandong. I hope you enjoy this visit with me and I look forward to your continued comments, thoughts and suggestions. These will give me great encouragement to continue my efforts with these TravelBlogs. Please enlarge the 121 Photos for their details. Thank you for taking the time to read this TravelBlog on Qingdao, and I hope the photos bring you many smiles.
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Fiona
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an amazing city
Hi, Hans, I was your student last year when you teached at Nanjing Normal University Taizhou College. I went to Qingdao last summer. But I went there by bus. It took me 7 hours. It's an amazing city which is impressed me so deeply. I'm so familiar with these photoes. Actually, I also went to Penglai and Yantai. They are two cities which are very close to Qingdao. Did you go these two places this time? They are also very beautiful. Btw, you look younger than before. Have a good day.