In the Chinese city of Qingdao (if you're a beer drinker, you've seen it spelled Tsingtao) you can find many instances of German influence. Over a century ago, this north-eastern city in Shandong Province was a German colony. I won't go into the full history of Qingdao but at the end of this blog I'll provide you with links to a few places you can read more about it at your leisure.
Over the years I lived in Shandong I visited Qingdao many times. Most of the times, my whole purpose of going there was to purchase "necessary" (i.e. cheese and butter) and get some relaxation. I became well acquainted with the area immediately around the train station. I had noticed much German architecture in the area, including a beautiful Catholic church. Although I could clearly see the German architecture in the city, I had no idea the full extent of its influence.
In 2012, a friend and I decided to visit Qingdao. I hadn't been there in many years and she had never been, so we started planning our trip online. The first thing we found was the place we HAD to stay. As travelers who are always looking to save a few dollars, we found the Qingdao Old Observatory Hostel and fell in love with the hostel. Upon arriving, it was clear to us that it had to have been built by the Germans. The architecture, even on such a small place, was obviously German. At the time of writing this blog, from my research it seems that the hostel is no longer in service. I'm hoping that the building is still there as I would love to visit it again the future.
The next thing we decided to do was visit the Tsingtao Brewery. As I'm sure you know, Germans love their beer and typically make beers of a very good quality. Knowing this fact, it would make sense that Germans in Qingdao would want to have the taste of the beer they were used to in their homeland. This led to the start of Tsingtao beer. We had a great time visiting the brewery and tasting some of their beers that are not widely sold. In the Los Angeles area I can easily find 2 or 3 of the different beers for sale but the full range is difficult to find even within China.
After having lots of German beer, we started craving some good German food. We asked the staff at the hostel where a German restaurant was. They recommended a few places and we chose the place that seemed to be closest without knowing anything about the restaurant. We hopped in a taxi and were on our way. At one point the driver went off the main road and started heading up a hill. For a moment, we thought our driver might be lost. He kept pointing up the hill indicating that was the direction we were needing to go. After we rounded a corner, our jaws dropped at what we saw. There was a small German castle right before our eyes! Never would I have guessed there was a castle in Qingdao. And we had discovered merely by accident - because we are both foodies and were craving authentic German food. As of the time I'm writing this blog, I'm unsure of the current status of the main castle (at that time it was a hotel), the restaurant and the other surrounding buildings. I hope that they are all still there so that I can visit them sometime in the full light of day so that I could get my own photos.
These are the larger examples of German architecture and influence throughout the city. The more you adventure in Qingdao, the more you notice the influence even in the modern architecture. It's really a lovely place to visit. If you're looking for a unique experience in China, I would suggest stopping by Qingdao and seeing a different side of the country.
If you would like more reading material on the history of Qingdao, you can visit these pages:
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