History

From pottery shards and primitive carved stones unearthed in and around Shandong Province, scientists have been able to determine that Qingdao's timetable stretches back almost 6,000 years. The first manifestations of an organized village began during the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770-256 BCE). It was during this period that the nearby the Laoshan Mountains earned Qingdao and the surrounding peninsula fame. In 600 BCE the scholar Lao-Tzu elaborated the philosophy behind the religion known as Taoism. This forever cloaked the mountains with an air of religious mystique, attracting scholars, writers and monks. Over the next 2,400 years, hundreds of temples and nunneries were built in these mountains, especially during the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. These mountains, especially Mount Taishan, are some of the most sacred in China. To assist in legitimizing his reign as China's unifier, Qinshi Huangdi, first ruler of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE) climbed Mount Tai three times during his reign. Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty (206BCE-220CE) held rites and ceremonies in what is now Chengyang district. (For visitors in search of these ancient temples, be aware that many still stand, but because the Tao emphasizes simplicity, they are modest at best and lack the mind-stretching grandeur of many of China's southern temples.) During the seventh century under the Tang dynasty (681-907 CE) Qingdao, then called Jiaonan, took full advantage of its sea location by evolving into one of the Shandong Peninsula's most important cities for commerce. It would build on this reputation over the next 900 years, continually growing in size and diversity as a leading national and international trading center.

Following China's defeat to England in the Opium War (1840-1842) and the subsequent signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, much of the Chinese coast was opened to European colonization. On November 14, 1897, German forces seized and occupied Qingdao under the murky pretext of avenging the murder of two German missionaries. Qingdao immediately became a German "concession area" (an area that concedes to foreign residency and rule of law without fully being a colony. Shanghai's French Concession is an example of this) and quickly took on the look of a Bavarian village. In 1903, the German presence expanded from architecture into taste when the Qingdao Beer Brewery formed. Today its reputation for the madly popular Tsingtao Beer is global.

According to Qingdao's concession pact, German occupation was to have lasted for 99 years, but the eruption of World War I neutered this plan. With Germany distracted, Japan invaded and occupied Qingdao in 1914, beginning a 30-year tug-of-war for control of the city. Following Germany's defeat, China expected to regain control of Qingdao, but the Treaty of Versailles instead transferred German concessions to Japan. This ignited China's famous May 4th Movement (1919) when thousand of Chinese protesters flooded the streets in protest of Japanese occupation.

In 1922, China regained governing rights to Qingdao, only to have the Japanese rudely return in 1938. After seven years of forced occupation, Japan finally surrendered Qingdao back to China after its defeat in World War II.

In 1984 Qingdao was one of 14 coastal cities declared open to foreign investment by the Chinese government. The effects were dramatically immediate. The economy swelled, turning the city into the fourth largest manufacturing port in China. International influences again made their mark on Qingdao through large communities of Korean expats and Japanese business travelers. Attention also turned to tourism. Its German architecture was suddenly seen as a gorgeous part of its heritage and as landmarks of a "colorful" past as opposed to the symbols of occupation that it was viewed as earlier. Major hotel chains were added, outlying roads leading to its famed Laoshan Mountains were improved, and the beaches were scrubbed clean. In 1990 the city hosted the first Munich-like International Beer Festival with hometown favorite Tsingdao beer playing a starring role. Today, this Oktoberfest-style gathering spans 16 days and attracts almost 1.5 million visitors from around the planet every year.

Qingdao is now recognized as one of the great destination cities in all of Asia. It averages a whopping 15 million visitors a year. As a true sign of its international standing, especially as a beach resort, Qingdao hosted the sailing competitions during the 2008 Summer Olympics.