Qingdao - The one where the girl drinks beer out of a bag

It’s been two months since I started teaching here in Shanghai and my first long weekend came and went like a flash. Qingming (pronounced Ching-ming) is a statutory public holiday here in mainland China and Tomb Sweeping Day is its most common English translation. For the Chinese, it’s a day to remember and honor one's ancestor’s grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, and/or wine.

I was originally going to stay in and do various touristy things in Shanghai (which would have been fine but I probably would have felt like an idiot for staying when I had three magical days to do whatever my heart desired) - and then randomly on Thursday night, Kate and Heather (Fellow BSKers) knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to join them on their trip to Qingdao. The obvious answer was “Of course, why not”? Twenty minutes later we had our flights and hostel booked and we were anxious to get going the next day.

Qingdao (pronounced Ching-Daow) is a coastal city on the Yellow Sea, about a 15-20 hour drive north of Shanghai. It’s famous for its German history and Mt Laoshan, but I’m sure that the most popular reasons people flock to this city are its beautiful beaches, and for the fact that it’s home to the Tsing-Tao Brewery. I have been a fan of this beer for the past couple of years and have been very lucky that it’s one of China’s most popular brews. I urge any of you to pick up a few bottles the next time you are at your local LCBO... I think most of you will like how light and refreshing it is as a summer beer.

What I found interesting was it's fascinating history; Did you know that between 1898 and 1949 Qingdao was occupied by both Germany and Japan (Germany between 1898-1914, and Japan between 1914-1922 and 1925-1949)? I bet you not! It was 50 years before the Chinese even had control back of the city - which might be why this is one of the more efficiently run and cleaner cities in China... ;-)

For more info on Qingdao: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingdao

Our trip was packed with all kinds of excitement – from beach strolling, to mountain climbing, to drinking beer out of a bag. (Yes drinking beer out of a bag.)

There were clean beaches and amazing German houses, buildings, and churches - but we found our favourite part of Qingdao down a dirty side street a few minutes from a giant German church. What we found there was no other than Beer in a Bag. Now I’m not talking about any old fancy bag; I’m talking about lowest of the low; the thin, flimsy bag you might use for lettuce at the grocery store. Of course it wasn’t really us foreigners who found the beer, but really the beer who found us: As we turned down this street, we spot this giant keg on the side of a store and before we even realize it, the Chinese beer lady smiled and started to pour her beer into one of the flimsy bags.

How nice to know that the Chinese know us so well as to start pouring the beer before we even know that it’s beer! Once we all have our very own 2 kuai (35 cents) Bag o’ Beer, she passes out the straws and we proceed to laugh hysterically at what now looks like cheap bags of pee with straws sticking out of them.

It was- as much as it could be- my favourite bar in China. There is something about sharing a ridiculous moment with people, realizing it’s a moment that - for the three of us - is probably going down as one of our most hilarious. And while we spent our afternoon drinking and laughing, my guess is that we all had a few quiet seconds to ourselves where we thought “how did I get here??” Because I can promise you this - only the luckiest of people can say they got the chance to sit in a park on a cold afternoon, sipping beer from a bag...

Drinking the famous Beer in a Bag

Gambei! (Cheers! )

Of course the whole weekend wasn’t spent drinking beer out of bags (although come summer if could have been different story. 0.35cent bags of beer on a beach? Common, why hasn’t Canada taken on to this idea???)

Apart from walking around town, we strolled the boardwalk for 4 hours on Saturday and climbed a mountain on Sunday. Both of which have given me great pictures and even better memories. The beaches in Qingdao are surprisingly clean and the waters are a beautiful blue-green. And even though it was only 15 degrees there were even a few brave Chinese who made it out for some chilly polar bear dips.

Morning mist over New Downtown

One of the many beaches in Qingdao (6 all together!)

Beauty defined

A man and his son enjoying the water

A family enjoying the views

A family remembering loved ones who passed on by throwing flowers off a cliff.

A sculptor sculpting a portrait - much like a sketch artist in Canada (but better!)

Gloves? check. Socks? check. Itty Bitty Blue Bikini? check.

She sells seashells by the sea shore

Fisherman taking advantage of the beautiful weather

Mt. Laoshan is a gorgeous mountain known for its great views, sea air, and “magical powers”. The hour long bus ride to the mountain was as scenic as it was long but definitely had us appreciating the mountain once we arrived. This mountain has been dubbed the birthplace of Taoism, which surprised me since there were only a few temples - although to be honest, getting a temple up on this mountain is a feat in itself.

Gorgeous views on our way to Laoshan

Boats off a little fishing village

The cable car we took to get up to the top of Laoshan

Taoist charm hanging off a wishing tree

Lovers' locks off a bridge

Waterfalls

The Laoshan Dam

Of course, not all of it was great - we did find ourselves in a hostel with walls decorated like a frat house, and with no A/C (in chinese this means no heater!) so the room was incredibly cold. Thank heavens for the lovely heated sheets that came with the beds though - sleep came easily in those. And of course we couldn't figure out the shower head and cleaning turned into a bit of an acrobatic act on the shower floor, but this only made this weekend that much more memorable.

Come monday morning, we were sad to leave this city we had had such a good weekend in. If only all weeks had three day weekends and if only all cities had beer in a bag. I think it would be a much nicer to place to live in :-)

The Qingdao Airport

Miss you all. Happy Canadian Easter! xx