Qingdao -- Qīngdǎo 

Qingdao (Chinese: 青岛; pinyin: Qīngdǎo) also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million (2010 census) in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. The character 青 (qīng) in Chinese means "green", while the character 岛 (dǎo) means "island". 

 

Climate

Qingdao has a temperate, four-season, monsoon-influenced climate. Winter is cool to cold and windy, but generally dry, with a January average of −0.5 °C (31.1 °F). Summer is generally hot and humid, but very hot days are rare, with an August average of 25.3 °C (77.5 °F). Due to its proximity to the coast and being on a peninsula, it experiences a one-month delayed spring compared to most inland areas of China. Conversely, autumn is milder than inland areas in Shandong. The water temperature peaks at about 25 °C (77 °F) in late August, with swimming possible two months on either side. The annual mean temperature is 12.6 °C (54.7 °F).

 

Tsingtao Brewery

Internationally, Qingdao is perhaps best known for its Tsingtao Brewery, founded by a German-British joint venture in 1903 that produces Tsingtao beer, the most well-known Chinese export beer. Now it is China's second largest brewery. The beer's present-day logo displays an image of Zhan Qiao, a famous pier on Qingdao's southern shore.

 

Dialect

A local accent known as Qingdao dialect (青岛话, pinyin: Qīnɡdǎo huà) distinguishes the residents of the city from those of the surrounding Shandong province. Due to the efforts by the city government to promote standard Mandarin, most educated people can speak that language in addition to their native language. With reform policies and English teaching, some young citizens have been taught English and many can converse with foreigners. Business and traffic signs in English are becoming more and more common.

 

Cuisine

Seafood is a typical delicacy of the coastal city, divided into two categories: "Great Seafood" including sea cucumbers, abalones, shark's fin, prawns, crabs, conch, and some big fish, and "Little Seafood" comprising squid, shrimps, octopus, oysters, razor clams, clams, periwinkles, yellow croakers, etc. Generally, fresh seafood is served in every hotel.

 

Qingdao Haiwan Bridge 

The world's longest sea bridge, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, links the main urban area of Qingdao with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas.