Qingdao, Part One

Qingdao, China - Chiamattt - Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 : goo

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If there is one thing to say about Qingdao, it’s that it has a very large number of well maintained and beautiful parks. While I only walked through and experienced a few, maps of the city indicate there are perhaps hundreds. The city is quite green, with lots of trees lining the streets, shrubs here and there, and a lot of grass. The architecture is European, Japanese, and Chinese. There are a lot of fountains, walkways, beaches, and places to sit. The city is a domestic tourism hotspot, and the city has done well to promote that fact.

Clean air, on the other hand, is a commodity Qingdao is in desperate need of. Qingdao is dirty. There is garbage everywhere. There are buildings I’m not sure people should be living in being lived in. Clothes hang from every window, and food waste is scattered on most residential streets. There is a clear indication that SARS had good reason to flourish here. Nevertheless, the people seemed happy and optimistic. There was development everywhere. As Qingdao is to host the Sailing portion of the 2008 Olympics, the city is doing a lot to spruce things up, though I am not sure how well most of the buildings are being built. After getting off the airport bus (which was not even close to our hotel) we went into a building to use a bathroom. The building housed a bunch of bank offices, so you’d think things would be fancy. They were not. Even though the building was new, the paint on the walls was peeling and parts of the ceiling were cracking. They had signs reminding people not to spit indoors. Everything seemed rather hastily done with some light fixtures missing. Though it was one building, I have a feeling the lack of craftsmanship is not rare.

Our hotel was on the beach and our room had a view of the ocean, though due to the insane amount of smog, our visibility was rather limited.

Beach number one as it was called was about 500 meters long and the sand wasn’t so hot that it was unwalkable. We strolled along the water and at the end of the beach took some stairs and walked along a walkway that meandered through craggy rocks. After turning back we headed to a giant park behind our hotel. We found a cable car that went up the mountain. I was a little bit scared but it was fun and offered a nice view of the surroundings. The cable ride was similar to a ski lift with two person seats spaced a few dozen meters apart. It was split into two sections.

Walking down a curving path we found a bathroom that looked and smelled as though it had never been cleaned, maintained, or serviced. It was absolutely rank. About ten paces from the bathroom, a small group of men sat on old car seats chatting. I’m not sure how they could stand the smell, but they seemed to be doing fine.

At the pond, there were men fishing, young children hunting frogs and old people sitting in the shade. It was a relaxing place to sit and cool down. There was a woman sitting on a small stool having her hair cut.

From the park we walked through a lower-middle class neighborhood. There were a lot of birds in birdcages hanging beside lines full of laundry. A man walked past carrying a bag of beer. The streets were dirty and littered with decaying organic matter and rubble. Old propaganda poster stations reminding people of their socialist moral duties were falling apart; a sign that the government had changed its priorities.

From the residential calmness, we found ourselves scrambling to cross busy streets. Concrete parks had children skipping, babies taking their first steps and extended families sitting together eating unknown finger foods. Everything seemed so rudimentary.

The night market was teeming with activity. Young and old crammed through thin streets shopping for almost everything. There were buildings painted with wonderful art and after a while the small streets opened up into one central pedestrian avenue which was wide and full of flashing lights, activity, and while we were there, a Chihuahua humping a Pug.

With bags in hand we took a taxi to May 4th Square to check out an interesting monument. The park which the square was in was filled with Chinese tourists and beggars. Weather on the third day was less than optimal; a serious fog mixed with smog blanketed the city.

From the park we decided to take a taxi to the airport, check in early, and just relax before our flight. From May 4th Square, our taxi to the airport took almost 40 minutes. We passed through labor intensive industrial areas with vast dormitory networks planted between industrial sites. The living conditions seemed simple and poor. Every so often the taxi would pass men sitting on the side of the road. Beside each man was a sign, in Chinese, that probably stated what kind of work they were looking for. If a factory was short a body, those lines were where they would find replacements. With China’s rapid development and rising wages, turnover at some factories was high, and these men represented the workforce that would replace those who had fled for work elsewhere.

WE REGRET TO INFORM THAT FLIGHT MU2033 TO SEOUL CANNOT TAKE OFF DUE TO THE WEATHER SITUATION AT OUR AIRPORT. WE ARE SORRY.

The weather finally cleared up and we headed down the steps into the bus that would take us to the plane parked on the tarmac. The flight to Seoul was only one hour and it passed quickly.

The trip was over. Here is part one of 15.

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chiamattt: mops are everywhere!!!

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