I booked onto a 3 day Chinese tour to Shandong during the National Day holiday. One of my students offered to accompany me and it soon grew by three more. We met the bus and headed off at 8pm collecting a few more additional passengers at several non descript locations in other cities along the way. For 2 and half hours we travelled along 2 lane roads never out of sight of some form of housing. We then met a large highway and stayed on major roads until we reached our destination. A couple of hours from departure we stopped at a service centre and a bed was made up in the empty luggage compartment for the assistant guide/learner/hanger on. I’d have been happy to have joined her irrespective of safety issues. Around 5am, just prior to our destination, we stopped at a service centre where the guide told everyone to wash their faces and clean their teeth. My minder was most concerned that I was not complying with requirements.
The pink area is the province of Shandong. The purple circles show the departure city and Qingdao and Rhizhao.
Waterfront at Qingdao with the national flag flying well in a mild breeze.
The sky was lightening and we travelled to Qingdao’s waterfront and the site of the May 4 Monument. It represents the May 4 Movement of 1919. China was weak during the 19th century resulting in numerous foreign governments gaining territory within its borders. Shandong had gone to the Germans which lost it to the Japanese. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 failed to return it to China which had aided the allies during the First World War with the provision of 140,000 labourers in France. The Movement sparked widespread dissatisfaction amongst intellectuals, workers and peasants. The results were limited but the significance was in that it was the first time that the three groups had collaborated.
May 4 Square
Olympic memorabilia
Fisherman pulling in his net close to the waterfront. Several raft type boats were pulled up on the sea wall.
Fisherman disentangling his catch from the net.
Man selling his own catch; tiny goldfish encased into key rings. I’ve seen them in tiny bottles but never in anything without a lid.
The waterfront is starting to gather tourists.
We had about an hour to wander the waterfront. Unlike normal Chinese tour groups we had neither coloured hats nor leader to follow around. She took us to our destinations, told us when to return and left us to our own devices. Our next destination was another part of the waterfront where we embarked on small boats for a half an hour run along the coast. The sun was well hidden by thick cloud.
Surveillance vessels. Another was docked out in the sea and it didn’t look nearly as smart.
Cityscape
Zhan Bridge and Huilan building
Huilan and cityscape. A ride in a speedboat is an optional seaside activity.
More cityscape
Small Qingdao, an island with lighthouse.
Next it was to the aquarium where I didn’t want to pay a small fortune to not see anything due to crowding. The students and I walked through a park and down to Bathing Beach Number 1 where they got their first seaside paddle. The beaches consisted of small areas of sand locked between stone walls. A variety of beachside activities were available for those prepared to part with money.
There was a European circus visiting and located in the park. These kids just appeared practising balance skills.
There had been lion dancers and a band hanging around the park and eventually they got moving to the extent that the kid got a ride.
Jetskiis for hire.
Paragliding. That’s as high as that guy got and he was soon down.
More water activities.
Preparing squid outside a restaurant on the walkway going under the road between the park and the beach.
Then it was off to the Zhan Bridge, an old wharf, and Huilan after negotiating our away through all of the other tourists. It left a little time for checking out some beach and buying a snack.
Starfish on the Zhan Bridge
Zhan Bridge from Huilin Building through a grimy window.
Crab kebab
That was the end of a whirlwind trip to Qingdao. We piled into the bus for a couple of hours trip to Rizhao, south of Qingdao. We’d been told not to buy anything in Qingdao as prices were too expensive so of course stopped a the usual concrete monstrosity where there were dried fish and fish products a plenty not to mention some tea. I splurged on 2 bottles of water. Shell products in addition to some kebabs and dried starfish were sold outside the shop.
Couple of bins of food.
Various kebabs
Squid kebabs.
Some of the shells and coral available for sale.
More shells
The Tide Tower, monument, naval museum etc was next on the list. The trip included a tour of it and then we were free to check out the beach. It was a nice long beach anteceded by a list of proscriptions. I saw a similar one about a year ago relating to a particular city precinct. Everyone frequented the nic nack shops and then it was time to rejoin the bus for our night destination and meal.
An empty swimming pool and unusual building.
Tide Tower
One of 2 seals in a pool outside the tower.
A model boat from an earlier age.
A variant on a common theme.
Fishing fleet
Kites above the beach. Kite flying is a common pass time.
Notice to tourists. Many Australians would never get to swim if we had such restrictive requirements.
We headed off into the darkness and the wilderness to a village of fishermen although it did seem a ways from the sea. It was a house containing numerous small rooms having many beds. I called it a day at that stage and went to bed minus tea. I still had’t got to sleep when a couple of young kids from the bus started over-excited screeching at the top of their lungs. Everyone else was also trying to sleep and there was lots of calling out . Eventually peace settled.
The next day we were scheduled to see an island and a park area. I elected to stay on the bus and get some shut eye.. Eventually we returned after an exhausting 53 hour trip. We were unlucky with overcast weather as normally that area of China is known as an attractive area.
