Qingdao

Qingdao is located in the south of the Shandong Peninsula on the shores of the Yellow Sea , 555 km southeast of Beijing . From the southeast, the city is washed by the Yellow Sea; it borders with the Yantai urban district in the north, and the Weifang urban district in the west.

40 km from the city center is Mount Laoshan (Laodin, 1133 m). However, the plain in Qingdao prevails over the low mountains.

Primorsky zone of the state level. Its length is 25 km, width - 3 km. Sea beaches of the city with fine sand are washed by the warm waves of the Yellow Sea. The total length of the coastline reaches 817 km. Qingdao has 69 islands.

The largest river is Dagu, whose length is 180 km ^[3] .

Climate

The climate in Qingdao is humid, monsoon . The average annual temperature is +12.4 ° C. In the summer it is stuffy, it often rains, the average temperature in August is 25.3 ° C; in winter there is a strong wind, but not very cold, the average temperature in January is -0.9 ° C. In winter, the wind blows mainly from the mainland, so humidity drops, but less than in Beijing. The most enjoyable time is autumn and spring. The average annual rainfall is 720 millimeters.

• Absolute maximum air temperature: 38.9 ° C
• Absolute minimum air temperature: -16.9 ° C ^[3]

Soil

More than half of Qingdao's urban district is covered in brown soils . Such soils are characteristic, for example, of the Mediterranean . They are an important base for agriculture.

Loamy chernozems occurring in the northern regions occupying 176900 ha of the district.

Alluvial soils lie along river banks ^[3] .

Vegetation

Urban landscaping is not much different from Beijing . More humid and warmer climate allowed to increase the proportion of conifers and evergreen shrubs. Himalayan cedar is as common as on the Black Sea coast of Russia . Instead of black and Chinese pines, Thunberg pine is used. In some areas, there is a decorative variety (Kaisuka) of Chinese juniper , and the stately cypress-like trees growing in the center of the city belong to the genus metasequoia .

Felted poppies and Canadian poplars are mostly replaced by plane trees , gingko and white acacia . Fluffy loose clusters on the streets are formed by Japanese sophora . The narrow oblong leaves of the melia azedarah and the highest aylant diversify the green landscape, the decoration of which became the plantings of the Chinese lyredendron . Residents of the city and tourists are pleased with their flowering magnolia large-flowered , Kölreiteria paniculata , decorative varieties of peach and Indian lagerstroemia ^[4] .

In neatly trimmed hedges, unpretentious evergreen shrubs are involved: Photinia × fraseri , Japanese euonymus and Tobira pittosporum .

Agriculture traditionally specializes in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and legumes. Scientists are developing a new marine rice variety, hoping to increase its production by tens of millions of tons. Modern climate warming contributes to the development of tea growing (Laoshan tea ) ^[5] .

The wildlife of Qingdao has long been isolated by people from the natural forests of the rest of China. Natural vegetation is driven into barren rocky slopes. In the Laoshan National Park, the rearguards of the retreating beech and evergreen subtropical forests were “captured” by the changing oak and the sawn oak. Variable oak is included in the Mediterranean section of Cerris , and sawn oak is close to Mongolian oak . Variable oak retinue includes drought-resistant species such as Chinese pistachio , real jujube , Vitex ( Vitex negundo ) and Chinese sumy . Companions of sawn and disappeared beech oak include: Neoshirakia japonica , symplocos ( Symplocos paniculata ) and Japanese styrax ^[7] . Only Machilus thunbergii and Japanese camellia remained from East Asian subtropical forests. The cooling that happened several thousand years ago destroyed the evergreen oaks and castanopsis ^[8] .

In China, Qingdao is placed in the region of warm temperate broad - leaved forests : between the subtropical south, the “Ussuri taiga” and the steppes of Inner Mongolia ^[9] . In 2012, the forest cover of the okrug increased to 38.6% ^[3] .

Until 1891

Archaeological finds indicate that people settled on the territory of the present city of Qingdao as early as 6000 years ago. During the Zhou Eastern Dynasty (770–256 BC), the city of Jimo was founded (now this place is located on the territory of Pingdu City County), then the second largest in Shandong. In the future, the area is repeatedly mentioned in various sources. So, it is from here in 221 BC. e. after the unification of China, the first emperor of the Qin empire, Qin Shihuang , sent ships to Korea and Japan. Wu-di , one of the emperors of the Han empire, made ritual sacrifices on Buji Mountain next to modern Qingdao and ordered the construction of several temples.

Under the Tang and Song empires, these places were the junction of the sea routes of northern and southern China. Under the Yuan Empire, these places became the southern tip of the Jiaozhou-Laizhou Canal , dug through the base of the Shandong Peninsula.

Under the Ming Empire, these places were an important naval base called Jiaoao.

In the 1890s, the Qing Empire decided to create a military fortification on this site, which protects against attacks from the sea. The city ​​of Qingdao was founded on June 14, 1891 , but its construction was progressing at a rather slow pace.

German and Japanese occupation

In 1897, the city as part of the Jiaozhou Bay territory was transferred to Germany by concession. The pretext for the transfer was the so-called “Juju incident,” when in 1897 two German missionaries were killed in eastern Shandong, and the German government issued an ultimatum to the emperor, demanding the protection of Christians.

The Germans turned Qingdao into a strategically important port managed by the Maritime Administration ( German Reichsmarineamt ), unlike other German colonies subordinate to the Colonial Administration ( German Reichskolonialamt ). In Qingdao, the German Imperial East Asian cruiser squadron was based , conducting military operations throughout the Pacific Ocean. Since 1898, the Third Marine Battalion was based here. The German government planned the streets and created a city plan that exists now. At this time, a brewery was also built ( Tsingtao Brewery ), functioning to this day and producing 12% of all Chinese beer. German influence spread throughout Shandong, in which many enterprises with German capital arose.

Before the outbreak of World War I, German warships under the command of Admiral von Spee left Qingdao to reach Germany and avoid the danger of them being blocked in the harbor by the Entente naval forces ^[15] .

After the outbreak of war in 1914, the Japanese fleet with some British involvement blocked Qingdao - the Allies declared war on Germany in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese treaty . Japanese troops besieged Qingdao from October 31 to November 7, 1914 ^[16] . As a result of the war, at the Paris Conference, it was decided to leave the occupied territories in Shandong province of Japan and not transfer them to China, which caused massive unrest .

In 1922, the city was returned to the Chinese authorities . After the formation of the Kuomintang government in Nanjing in 1929, the Special Qingdao City (青岛 特别 市) was formed, in 1930 it was transformed into an ordinary city. Japan again occupied Qingdao in January 1938 during a territorial expansion along the Chinese coast as a result of a joint operation of the Japanese ground forces and marines.

After World War II

After World War II, Qingdao again received the status of a “special city”, and the Kuomintang authorities allowed the United States to use Qingdao as the base of the Western Pacific Fleet. However, on June 2, 1949, the city was occupied by communist troops (the last of the major cities in northern China).

In 1949, the city was divided into 7 districts. In 1951, some territories of the Jiaozhou Special District (胶州 专区) were added to the city, on which the Laoshan suburban area was formed, and four urban areas were disbanded. In 1958, Jiaoxian and Jiaonan counties from the Changwei Special Region (昌潍 专区) and Jimo County from the Laiyang Special District (莱阳 专区) passed under the jurisdiction of Qingdao. In 1961, Jimo County was transferred to Yantai County (烟台 地区), and Jiaoxian and Jiaonan counties were returned to Changwei County; Laoshan suburban area was transformed into Laoshan County. In 1978, Jimo County from Yantai County and Jiaoxian and Jiaonan Counties from Changwei County were again transferred to Qingdao jurisdiction. In 1983, Qingdao passed the jurisdiction of Laixi County from Yantai County and Pingdu County from Weifang County

Since 1984, China began to pursue an open policy in relation to foreign investment. As a result, Qingdao quickly turned into a modern port city. On November 5, 1984, three US Navy ships visited Qingdao for the first time after 1949. This was the first call of US warships to the Chinese port after a long break.

In 1987, Jiaoxian County was transformed into Jiaozhou City County. In 1988, Laoshan County was transformed into an area of ​​urban subordination. In 1989, the Pingdu and Jimo counties were transformed into urban counties. In 1990, Jiaonan and Lixi counties were also transformed into urban counties. In 2012, Jiaonan City County was annexed to Huangdao District.

Currently, Qingdao is a large industrial center. Recently a new business center has been built east of the old business district. Outside the center, there is a large industrial zone, including enterprises of the chemical industry and heavy engineering, as well as high-tech industries.

By the Decree of the State Council of the PRC of July 18, 2017 (entered into force on October 30, 2017), the Jimo city district was transformed into an area of ​​city subordination.

Qingdao city of sub-provincial significance is divided into 6 districts and 4 urban districts:

Qingdao is a major economic center of China. Here are representative offices of banks , production facilities of many large companies and representative offices of many international companies. In 2016, Qingdao took the 12th place among the cities of China in terms of GDP (1.001 trillion yuan) with an annual growth rate of 7.9% ^[17] .

Qingdao’s regional economy relies on large state-owned enterprises such as Haier Corporation, Hisense Company, Yizhong Tobacco Corporation, Aokema Corporation, Two Star Qingdao Shoe Corporation, Qingdao Beer Corporation and other large-scale enterprises with revenues of 50% of all income of the Qingdao economy. Unlike state enterprises, private enterprises are not very developed here ^[18] .

Qingdao High-tech Industrial Development Zone is located in the eastern part of the city, in Laoshan, and covers an area of 67 square meters. km It includes parts such as an industrial area of 9.8 square meters. km., higher education center , research center , tourist area and housing area. The zone is subject to the center for the development of science and technology, as well as the seaport. The main industrial sectors in the zone are biotechnology , electronic information, optomechatronic integration, household appliances , new materials and new energy .

There are more than 66 species and varieties of mineral resources, including graphite , fluorite , zeolite , hard spar and gold , as well as 1,400 types of agricultural and livestock products, including Lao Shan dairy goats , Lichan black pigs , honey peaches and Datszeshan grapes ^[3] .

In the industrial economy of Qingdao, the main share is occupied by such sectors as electronic, machine-building, chemical, oil and rubber-bearing, food processing and beverage production, household appliances, textile, medicine, construction materials, metallurgy, and marine products.

Since the subjugation of Germany, Qingdao has been one of the main beer production centers.

Qingdao is one of China's five largest foreign trade ports . In 2016, it handled 444 million tons of cargo and 18 million TEU ^[19] . Most of the port’s cargo turnover is at the Qianwan container terminal.

The largest corporations in Qingdao

• Haier - household electrical appliances;
• Hisense - household electrical appliances;
• CSR Sifang - high-speed and conventional trains, commuter trains, subway cars and hydrogen fuel cell trams ^[20] .
• FAW Jie Fang Truck - trucks;
• Tsingtao Brewery - beer;
• Qingdao Port Group - logistics;
• Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding - shipbuilding;
• SOAR Automotive - cars;
• GREN Machinery - auto parts;
• Sinoenergy - gas equipment;
• SEPCO 3 - power equipment;
• Qingdao Helicopter - air transport;
• Haili - helicopters;
• Epiphone - Guitars;

Energy

The city’s energy system is based on thermal power plants (coal, gas) and the Haiyan nuclear power plant under construction, the first power units of which are already running. The nuclear power plant is located in neighboring Yantai , near the border with Qingdao ^[21] .

Climatic resources are used by several solar and wind power plants. Local companies have established the production of key equipment for them ^{[22] [23]} .

City

City transport is represented by a large number of city bus routes. A lot of taxi cars.

In December 2015, Qingdao Metro was opened. Construction will be carried out in several stages. The first phase of the metro will have a length of 54.7 km. The total length of the eight planned lines will be 231.5 km.

At the end of June 2009, a delegation from Qingdao led by its mayor visited St. Petersburg . The parties agreed on mutual cooperation, within the framework of which the Chinese proposed to build a 5-star hotel and a factory for the production of household appliances in St. Petersburg, and the Russians, in turn, can help Qingdao with the construction of the subway (metro builders of the northern capital will participate in the construction of the metro). ^{[24] [25]}

In early 2011, the four-year construction of a 42-kilometer bridge connecting Qingdao with the suburban area of ​​Huangdao through the northern part of Jiaozhou Bay was completed.

Intercity

Qingdao has a well-developed transportation system with a network of railways and expressways.

Air

Qingdao Liuting Modern Airport is located outside the city. You can fly here from any major city in the country. Among these cities are Beijing , Shanghai , Guangzhou , Guiyang , Kunming , Nanjing , Xi'an , Tianjin , Wuhan , Hangzhou , Changsha , Chongqing , Chengdu , Shenzhen , Zhangjiajie .

To the north-west of the city center, the new Jiaodong International Airport is being built, designed for 35–55 million passengers and equipped with two runways ^[26] .

Railway

Qingdao Railway Station is built in European style. It is the terminal station, since only the blue expanse of the sea extends further. It was reconstructed for the 2008 Olympics (some competitions were also held in Qingdao). From here there are high-speed trains to Beijing (3-4 hours) and Shanghai , as well as to the provincial capital Jinan and other cities of Shandong province.

Qingdao is connected to Jinan by two new high-speed highways. The latter has a design speed of 350 km / h. The Fuxing CR400AF trains that are designed and mass-produced in Qingdao ^{[27] [28]} will go along it to Beijing.

Ещё одна недавно построенная дорога ведёт в город Ляньюньган . Её скоростные характеристики скромнее — до 200 км/ч ^[29] .

Qingdao is one of the cinema centers of the country, the Chinese ancestor in this area. The first film produced here was released in 1898. To date, a large film production complex has been created, including the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis and the Lingshan Bay Film-Television Cultural Industrial Park. Seaside city has become a new platform for filming box office films. Movies " Wandering Land " and "The Great Wall " were commercially successful and well-known outside of China. Local studios have also been involved in making other films, such as Godzilla 2: The Monster King . To support the film industry, subsidies and tax incentives have been introduced. In addition to the studios, a multi-screen cinema with 5000 seats was opened ^{[30] [31]} .

The largest skyscrapers of Qingdao

• Qingdao Conson Hai Tian Center ^[32]
  • 72-story tower (369 meters)
  • 56-story tower (245 meters)
  • 42-story tower (210 meters)
• 74-story Qingdao Landmark Tower (327 meters) ^[33]
• 54-story "Qingdao International Financial Center" (249 meters)
• 49-story Parkson Plaza (220 meters)

Largest Qingdao Hotels

• 38-story Holiday Inn Qingdao (198 meters)
• 38-story Crowne Plaza (175 meters)
• 33-storey Qilin (146 meters)

Twin Cities

Partner Cities

• Yizhong Stadium

• Guides with Dmitry Krylov: China, Moscow, Eksmo, 2007.

• Qingdao - information about the territory, population and history of changes in the administrative-territorial division on the site 行政 区划 网(Chinese)
• Qingdao Government Website (China)
• Site about Qingdao city (Russian)
• Qingdao City Forum (Russian)