Qingdao tourist information

The area of which Qingdao is located today was called Jiao'ao when it was administered by the Qing Dynasty. In 1891, the Qing Government decided to make the area a primary defence base against naval attacks, and planned the construction of a city. Little was done, however, until 1897 when the city was ceded to Germany (at the same time Hong Kong fell under British control and Macau went to the Portuguese). The Germans soon turned Tsingtao into a strategically important port, basing their Pacific Squadron there, allowing the fleet to conduct operations throughout the Far East. The German Imperial government planned and built the first streets and institutions of the city we see today, including the world-famous Tsingtao Brewery. German influence extended to other areas of Shandong Province, including the establishment of rival breweries.

Soon after the outbreak of The Great War, the German Pacific Squadron, under Admiral von Graf Spee, left Tsingtao rather than waiting to be trapped in the harbour by Allied forces. After a subsequent minor British naval attack on the German colony in 1914, Japan occupied the city and the surrounding province during the Battle of Tsingtao after Japan's declaration of war on Germany. The failure of the Allied powers to restore Chinese rule to Shandong after the war triggered the May Fourth Movement.

The city reverted to Chinese rule in 1922, under control of the Kuomintang (the ROC). Renamed Qingdao in 1930, the city became a special administrative zone of the ROC Government. Japan re-occupied Qingdao in 1938 with its plans of territorial expansion onto China's coast. After World War II the KMT allowed Qingdao to serve as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet of the US Navy. On 2nd June, 1949, the CPC-led Red Army entered Qingdao and the city and province have been under PRC control since that time.

Since the 1984 inauguration of China's open-door policy to foreign trade and investment, Qingdao has developed quickly as a modern port city. It is now the headquarters of the Chinese navy's northern fleet.

Qingdao is now a manufacturing center, and home to Haier Corporation a major electronics firm. The city has recently experienced a rapid growing period, with a new central business district created to the east of the older business district. Outside of the center of the city there is a large industrial zone, which includes chemical processing, rubber and heavy manufacturing, in addition to a growing high tech area.

The Orient Ferry connects Qingdao with Shimonoseki, Japan. There are numerous smaller ferries connecting Qingdao with South Korea as well.

The Qingdao Liuting International Airport, 36 kilometres away from city centre, is served by 13 domestic and international airlines, operating 58 routes of which 10 are international and regional. It is estimated that in 2002 over 2.3 million people, including 450,000 international travelers, were transported through the airport.

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Qingdao hosts one of China's largest seaports. Cooperative relations have been established with 450 ports in 130 countries worldwide. The 1999 annual cargo handling capacity was 72 million tons. Exported commodities amounted to more than 35 million tons and 1.5 million TEUs.

Qingdao's railway development was picked up during the late 90's. At the present, domestic rail lines connect Qingdao with Lanzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Jinan and Jining. There are a total of 1,145km of roads in the Qingdao area, with nearly 500km of expressways. Expressways connect Qingdao with Jinan. The specially designed high-altitude railcars required for the Qinghai–Tibet railway, the highest railway in the world, are also built in Qingdao.

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