Qingdao, China – October 2nd
My gosh, I can’t believe it is October already! However, the slow boat to China has finally arrived in China and today was the port city of Qingdao (pronounced Chin-dow I believe). We arrived very early in the morning so were already at port by the time I woke up. I tried to catch a sunset picture but it was a bit too hazy to see much. There wasn’t much of a view of the city either because of the haze. I hate to call it pollution but I fear that’s exactly what it is. By the time we left at 4 p.m. this afternoon it literally was just a yellow smog so despite the fact that it was quite a warm day we never did see much of the sun and the pictures are going to look very dull.
The first shuttles into the city left at 8:30 and I was there ready to go. They dropped us by the Friendship Centre store, which was really just a big shop where we were supposed to shop and get discounted prices as Princess passengers. I didn’t even go into the store but from what I can understand from others, it was just about the most expensive spot in town. Not being a shopper, I wouldn’t have had anything to compare it to anyway.
I started out just walking down Zhangshan Road. I had no idea where I’d end up because I really didn’t know where I was to start with. The street was quite busy and many of the stores were open. They ranged from large modern stores to tiny little shops to street carts. Everything seemed to just be mixed together. At some point I hit something like the business or banking district as there were suddenly lots of banks. I decided to try and get some Chinese Yuan and thankfully my bank card worked perfectly the first time. Others seemed to be having difficulties. Because I’d left my water in my room I spent a total of 8 Yuan (about $1.20?) buying two bottles of water at MacDonalds. I needed to use their washrooms anyway.
I met several wedding parties walking down this busy street. They looked very out of place to me but they seemed perfectly happy with the situation. At one corner I looked up and saw a big church so I went up to take a look. I’m assuming it was St. Michael’s Church with its twin towers. There were no fewer than 6 wedding parties out in the parking lot in front of the church. The church was not open. There were a lot of cameras around so I assume these were all photo shoots. The brides all looked lovely. The grooms looked good as well but they had to be reminded to pull themselves together for the picture taking. Most had suits that were way too long on them so they had to keep rolling up the pant legs to keep them neat. The groups I saw were quite small with only one attendant couple in each. I’m not sure if that was the whole group or just the main people involved. I only wondered this because I later saw a van going by with at least 5 happy couples in it. Others were in the van as well but not more than a couple for each wedding party. I guess they travel together to get their pictures done.
Anyway, I kept wandering down the street and eventually I saw water. I decided to take the underground cross walk to reach the promenade. That was an experience mainly because of the smell. There were lots of vendors with down in the tunnel and many were selling food. I just wasn’t too sure what it was that they were selling. A lot of it looked like bugs and worms on skewers so who knows. I guess when I’m on a formal tour I’ll discover more about these things.
The beaches, the promenade and the piers were all incredibly busy. Apparently it is a national holiday this week (yes, 7 days!) so everyone was out enjoying the warm weather. The promenade is wonderful and I know one section of it stretches for over 5 miles. I don’t know how long it is in total but I know I walked a lot of it. There are sandy beaches and people were in swimming, ski doing (is that a word?), parasailing, boating, etc. It looked like the usual beach scene on the water. On the beach itself it was a bit different at times. There were large umbrellas for shade, chairs and towels to sit on, and lots of pails and shovels to play with as might be expected. There were also inflatable climbing walls and huge slides, and play grounds with all kinds of equipment in the sand, and rides for the kids. Then there were volleyball courts with some serious males practicing some serious moves. This was right beside the fitness centre where these big guys were lifting weights and trying to impress everyone with their muscles. They looked totally out of place on the beach but it sure seemed like a great idea to me.
Lots of families were out enjoying the beach, the aquarium, the naval museum, the parks and just downtown in general. Lots of people, especially the females and young children would say “hello” or “hi” just to get my reaction. When I replied they would giggle and walk away. I had to stop frequently to have my photo taken with some of the young girls and even some of the guys who were with them. I guess they don’t often see blond hair and blue eyes so I was a bit of a novelty. For those few minutes I felt quite special and had fun listening to them testing their English. At other times I felt totally out of place and kept wondering why everyone, especially the older guys, were staring at me all the time. I kept checking to ensure the zipper on my pants was up but everything seemed to be fine. I didn’t think my Tilley pants and a short-sleeved top looked that strange. And I didn’t even have my weird hat or sunglasses on so I really don’t know what they were staring at. I may never know.
At one point there was a temple on the other side of the street from the promenade so I took a detour and went over to visit it. Crossing the street is another story I’ll come back to later! The Tian Hou Temple is from the 15th century in the Ming Dynasty. The complex included the main temple and several smaller shrines as well as many statues and other items. Some of the signs had English on them but all of the tours were in Chinese. People were offering prayers in various locations (candles, lotus flowers, etc.) and there was a room for everyone to meet with a priest (?) after the tour. That room seemed very busy so I didn’t even go in. And of course at the end they directed you to an exit which was an alley filled with vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs. I headed back across the street to the promenade.
I walked for three or four hours and then stopped and ate my bun on a bench on the promenade overlooking one of the beaches. It was very nice, even though it was interrupted for several pictures! I think that was the young girl who told me I was so beautiful. I felt like giving her all the money I’d just gotten out of the ATM! From there I went underground again to Zhongshan Park and walked around there for a while. It is a huge park and at the far end is the TV Tower that has an observation deck in it. Given the visibility wasn’t that great I skipped that part of my tour even though it was one of my goals. I saw the Olympic rings in the park and it took me a while to work out the connection but apparently Qingdao hosted all the sailing events for the 2008 Olympics. There is also a temple in the park but I didn’t go to it as I was worried about running out of time.
On the way back I tried to retrace my steps and didn’t do too badly. The only thing was that suddenly I was at the train station and I knew that was past the street I was supposed to have turned on. However, it was a very lovely train station very reminiscent of the big brick European stations. Much of Qingdao is very European in flavour, specifically German, as Qingdao was a German enclave and treaty port on lease for 99 years in the 19th / 20th century. The German Governor’s House is described as Bavarian fairytale castle and I was hoping to see it today but I don’t think I did. I saw lots of old brick buildings very reminiscent of Europe including the original jail and police station, but I don’t think I actually saw the official house. The Germans also brought their love of beer to the area and the Tsingtao Brewery opened in 1903 and is still operational today. Those who went on that tour said it was really interesting (and tasty!).
Mixed in with the German buildings and other European looking buildings are modern high rises and small more modest buildings. At street level the buildings mainly look old and grey and dreary. A lot of the old buildings are boarded up and in a state of decay. However, there is a lot of work being done on some of them so this might get better. On the shuttle bus into town we all marveled at their scaffolding. Entire bridges and buildings were being supported by a series of pipes that didn’t look all that secure to us. However, they obviously work.
The real fun (or scary) part about Qingdao was the traffic. At one point on the shuttle ride in we were going straight at a three-way corner while the lane on our right was turning right. Well, the lane on our left started turning right too, and the people coming at us were turning left in front of us even though we had the right of way (by our reading of the traffic lights). It seemed that as long as you honked your horn you could do anything. At other points we’d be driving down the road and we’d have cars coming at us on both the left and the right. There seemed to be no rhyme nor reason to it and we were utterly amazed. Then we got off the bus and had to try and cross the street. Talk about chaos! At some major intersections there are good lights for both vehicles and pedestrians and it works well. At other major corners there are underpasses and despite the smell they seemed really safe. But on normal streets you just had to take your chances and you had to be looking both ways at once because you never really knew where cars might be coming from. As far as I know we all survived so we obviously did well.
It’s almost 11 p.m. right now and we are back out at sea and it is still almost 70 degrees. Tomorrow is to be colder but I’ll believe that when tomorrow gets here. For some reason it always seems to be hotter than expected. Tomorrow is my last full day on the ship. We are in Dalian from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then I shall have to come back and start packing as my bags have to be out before dinner. I can’t believe this cruise is almost over. It was great and I wish it could continue. I particularly wish that because I have no idea where I’m going once I get off the ship. Well, I have the one night confirmed in Beijing but then I’m on to Taipei and I still have nothing booked there. Hopefully I’ll come up with something when in Beijing and when I have access to cheaper internet. For now I’d best get to bed and get rested for another day of running around China.
Jayne
My gosh, I can’t believe it is October already! However, the slow boat to China has finally arrived in China and today was the port city of Qingdao (pronounced Chin-dow I believe). We arrived very early in the morning so were already at port by the time I woke up. I tried to catch a sunset picture but it was a bit too hazy to see much. There wasn’t much of a view of the city either because of the haze. I hate to call it pollution but I fear that’s exactly what it is. By the time we left at 4 p.m. this afternoon it literally was just a yellow smog so despite the fact that it was quite a warm day we never did see much of the sun and the pictures are going to look very dull.
The first shuttles into the city left at 8:30 and I was there ready to go. They dropped us by the Friendship Centre store, which was really just a big shop where we were supposed to shop and get discounted prices as Princess passengers. I didn’t even go into the store but from what I can understand from others, it was just about the most expensive spot in town. Not being a shopper, I wouldn’t have had anything to compare it to anyway.
I started out just walking down Zhangshan Road. I had no idea where I’d end up because I really didn’t know where I was to start with. The street was quite busy and many of the stores were open. They ranged from large modern stores to tiny little shops to street carts. Everything seemed to just be mixed together. At some point I hit something like the business or banking district as there were suddenly lots of banks. I decided to try and get some Chinese Yuan and thankfully my bank card worked perfectly the first time. Others seemed to be having difficulties. Because I’d left my water in my room I spent a total of 8 Yuan (about $1.20?) buying two bottles of water at MacDonalds. I needed to use their washrooms anyway.
I met several wedding parties walking down this busy street. They looked very out of place to me but they seemed perfectly happy with the situation. At one corner I looked up and saw a big church so I went up to take a look. I’m assuming it was St. Michael’s Church with its twin towers. There were no fewer than 6 wedding parties out in the parking lot in front of the church. The church was not open. There were a lot of cameras around so I assume these were all photo shoots. The brides all looked lovely. The grooms looked good as well but they had to be reminded to pull themselves together for the picture taking. Most had suits that were way too long on them so they had to keep rolling up the pant legs to keep them neat. The groups I saw were quite small with only one attendant couple in each. I’m not sure if that was the whole group or just the main people involved. I only wondered this because I later saw a van going by with at least 5 happy couples in it. Others were in the van as well but not more than a couple for each wedding party. I guess they travel together to get their pictures done.
Anyway, I kept wandering down the street and eventually I saw water. I decided to take the underground cross walk to reach the promenade. That was an experience mainly because of the smell. There were lots of vendors with down in the tunnel and many were selling food. I just wasn’t too sure what it was that they were selling. A lot of it looked like bugs and worms on skewers so who knows. I guess when I’m on a formal tour I’ll discover more about these things.
The beaches, the promenade and the piers were all incredibly busy. Apparently it is a national holiday this week (yes, 7 days!) so everyone was out enjoying the warm weather. The promenade is wonderful and I know one section of it stretches for over 5 miles. I don’t know how long it is in total but I know I walked a lot of it. There are sandy beaches and people were in swimming, ski doing (is that a word?), parasailing, boating, etc. It looked like the usual beach scene on the water. On the beach itself it was a bit different at times. There were large umbrellas for shade, chairs and towels to sit on, and lots of pails and shovels to play with as might be expected. There were also inflatable climbing walls and huge slides, and play grounds with all kinds of equipment in the sand, and rides for the kids. Then there were volleyball courts with some serious males practicing some serious moves. This was right beside the fitness centre where these big guys were lifting weights and trying to impress everyone with their muscles. They looked totally out of place on the beach but it sure seemed like a great idea to me.
Lots of families were out enjoying the beach, the aquarium, the naval museum, the parks and just downtown in general. Lots of people, especially the females and young children would say “hello” or “hi” just to get my reaction. When I replied they would giggle and walk away. I had to stop frequently to have my photo taken with some of the young girls and even some of the guys who were with them. I guess they don’t often see blond hair and blue eyes so I was a bit of a novelty. For those few minutes I felt quite special and had fun listening to them testing their English. At other times I felt totally out of place and kept wondering why everyone, especially the older guys, were staring at me all the time. I kept checking to ensure the zipper on my pants was up but everything seemed to be fine. I didn’t think my Tilley pants and a short-sleeved top looked that strange. And I didn’t even have my weird hat or sunglasses on so I really don’t know what they were staring at. I may never know.
At one point there was a temple on the other side of the street from the promenade so I took a detour and went over to visit it. Crossing the street is another story I’ll come back to later! The Tian Hou Temple is from the 15th century in the Ming Dynasty. The complex included the main temple and several smaller shrines as well as many statues and other items. Some of the signs had English on them but all of the tours were in Chinese. People were offering prayers in various locations (candles, lotus flowers, etc.) and there was a room for everyone to meet with a priest (?) after the tour. That room seemed very busy so I didn’t even go in. And of course at the end they directed you to an exit which was an alley filled with vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs. I headed back across the street to the promenade.
I walked for three or four hours and then stopped and ate my bun on a bench on the promenade overlooking one of the beaches. It was very nice, even though it was interrupted for several pictures! I think that was the young girl who told me I was so beautiful. I felt like giving her all the money I’d just gotten out of the ATM! From there I went underground again to Zhongshan Park and walked around there for a while. It is a huge park and at the far end is the TV Tower that has an observation deck in it. Given the visibility wasn’t that great I skipped that part of my tour even though it was one of my goals. I saw the Olympic rings in the park and it took me a while to work out the connection but apparently Qingdao hosted all the sailing events for the 2008 Olympics. There is also a temple in the park but I didn’t go to it as I was worried about running out of time.
On the way back I tried to retrace my steps and didn’t do too badly. The only thing was that suddenly I was at the train station and I knew that was past the street I was supposed to have turned on. However, it was a very lovely train station very reminiscent of the big brick European stations. Much of Qingdao is very European in flavour, specifically German, as Qingdao was a German enclave and treaty port on lease for 99 years in the 19th / 20th century. The German Governor’s House is described as Bavarian fairytale castle and I was hoping to see it today but I don’t think I did. I saw lots of old brick buildings very reminiscent of Europe including the original jail and police station, but I don’t think I actually saw the official house. The Germans also brought their love of beer to the area and the Tsingtao Brewery opened in 1903 and is still operational today. Those who went on that tour said it was really interesting (and tasty!).
Mixed in with the German buildings and other European looking buildings are modern high rises and small more modest buildings. At street level the buildings mainly look old and grey and dreary. A lot of the old buildings are boarded up and in a state of decay. However, there is a lot of work being done on some of them so this might get better. On the shuttle bus into town we all marveled at their scaffolding. Entire bridges and buildings were being supported by a series of pipes that didn’t look all that secure to us. However, they obviously work.
The real fun (or scary) part about Qingdao was the traffic. At one point on the shuttle ride in we were going straight at a three-way corner while the lane on our right was turning right. Well, the lane on our left started turning right too, and the people coming at us were turning left in front of us even though we had the right of way (by our reading of the traffic lights). It seemed that as long as you honked your horn you could do anything. At other points we’d be driving down the road and we’d have cars coming at us on both the left and the right. There seemed to be no rhyme nor reason to it and we were utterly amazed. Then we got off the bus and had to try and cross the street. Talk about chaos! At some major intersections there are good lights for both vehicles and pedestrians and it works well. At other major corners there are underpasses and despite the smell they seemed really safe. But on normal streets you just had to take your chances and you had to be looking both ways at once because you never really knew where cars might be coming from. As far as I know we all survived so we obviously did well.
It’s almost 11 p.m. right now and we are back out at sea and it is still almost 70 degrees. Tomorrow is to be colder but I’ll believe that when tomorrow gets here. For some reason it always seems to be hotter than expected. Tomorrow is my last full day on the ship. We are in Dalian from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then I shall have to come back and start packing as my bags have to be out before dinner. I can’t believe this cruise is almost over. It was great and I wish it could continue. I particularly wish that because I have no idea where I’m going once I get off the ship. Well, I have the one night confirmed in Beijing but then I’m on to Taipei and I still have nothing booked there. Hopefully I’ll come up with something when in Beijing and when I have access to cheaper internet. For now I’d best get to bed and get rested for another day of running around China.
Jayne
posted by Jayne Brooks @ 7:57 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home