The wooden parts of those same (see previous post) traditional Chinatown gates were produced in Suzhou, but the natural stone parts are made in Laizhou, near Qingdao in Shandong Province.
The old German colony of Qingdao is a beach town (1.5M people) and the beer capital of China; it's been on our list of places to visit for a while so I went there early, together with Shei!a, so we could enjoy a weekend at the beach before my business trip on Monday.
the Qingdao Museum of Rusty Navy Stuff
always a colorful sunset in the nasty Chinese air
Chinese people are still developing a beach culture and that's why the sunny beaches are not overcrowded. In the evenings things get pretty busy though, because then people can take a swim and lay out on the sand without risking a tan.
in front of our hotel
still plenty of activity around 11PM
of course it's nice to have beer on the beach
Qingdao was the 2008 sailing venue
it's amazing how bad the Olympic buildings already look
less than a year after the Games
view from the hotel roof on Sunday night
Shei!a's already left for Shanghai at this point
going for a swim on Monday morning 6:45AM
I'm not the only one!
Check out what the female swimmers wear to keep their skin from tanning.
Seriously...
swimming lessons or terrorist training?
looking good!
(not)
