Why come to study in Qingdao?

Imagine an entire afternoon spent studying Mandarin after a full morning’s worth of class. Now throw in a sandy beach, a cool ocean breeze, and an icy, fresh-brewed German lager. Sound appealing? Well Qingdao is the place for you!

Located on the tip of the Shandong peninsula, due west of the Korean peninsula, Qingdao is northern China's premier ocean resort. The name of this fair city literally translates as "green" or "lush" (qing) "island" (dao), though students may be more familiar with its Western postal name: Tsingtao, whichis also the name of the city's most famous export, Tsingtao Beer. Qingdao has come a long way since it was a small fishing port only 100 years ago. Today, the city boasts a booming economy, one of Asia's busiest seaports with daily ferry crossings to Korea and Japan, a fascinating modern history and cultural background and, lest we forget, great beaches.

Like most of China’s northeastern seaboard, Shandong province was the subject of territorial disputes and foreign occupation during the late 19th century. In fact, Shandong's occupation played a key role in the genesis of modern China. Fearing foreign imperialists, the Qing Dynasty deemed Qingdao a key strategic location and made efforts to transform the fishing town into a fortified naval base. However, before these plans came to fruition, the area was ceded to Germany in 1897. Thus, much of the city's development was the result of German occupation which is reflected in the city's architecture even today. Qingdao's first streets, many of its standing institutions, the beginnings of the modern harbor and the world famous brewery were all constructed during the German occupation.

German forces deserted Qingdao, retreating from the Allied Powers, at the onset of WWI. Soon afterwards Japan occupied the territory and would remain there after Germany's defeat, despite promises by the Allied Powers that Shandong would be returned if China joined the Allied Forces. The Chinese citizenry were incensed when The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 transferred all the German concessions in Shandong directly to Japan. This sparked enormous nationalistic fervor, leading directly to countrywide protests known as the May 4th Movement.

Largely considered China's modern political awakening, the mass revolt and student organizations of the movement sowed the seeds of the later Marxist movement in China. The May 4th movement marked the downfall of the feudal Confucian era that had lasted over three thousand years and germinated a new political and cultural ideology that evolved into the China seen today.

With Qingdao’s legacy cemented in modern Chinese history, the city is paving its own path into the future. In the past decade Qingdao has become a manufacturing powerhouse, and with a recently opened special economic zone, multinational companies have flocked to the area, most of them from neighboring Japan and Korea. Qingdao has also experienced similar growth in tourism, as the city’s seaside location has made it ideal for many large events, such as several 2008 Olympic disciplines and the International Beer Festival. Qingdao has it all: an emerging economy, great history, great beer and beaches galore, making it one of CSA’s more popular destinations to live and study Chinese in China.

Our two cents...

Qingdao is northern China’s premier beach resort - okay, it’s not quite Hawaii or Bondai Beach, but as Chinese beach resorts go Qingdao is pretty decent. Add to this the Tsingtao beer factory (you will regularly see people walking around drinking beer from a plastic bag fresh on the day from the brewery), fantastic fresh seafood all year round and some beautiful university campuses located along the shoreline, and you have a recipe for studying with a great deal of relaxation and good quality of life thrown in.

Qingdao is at its most pleasant during the spring and summer months when the weather warms up so we recommend Ocean University for the spring semester in particular, although fall semester students will also have a few months of “beach” weather before the winter kicks in. Check out our summer study abroad program options too.

Qingdao is also one of the only cities in China that boasts European-style suburbs, leftover from its German occupation at the turn of the 20th century, and also has a large international student population.

Qingdao is perfect for you if you are looking for:

Qingdao at a glance:

What's the food like in Qingdao?

Qingdao is famed for its seafood, with dishes that have a unique light and fresh flavour. Qingdao also has a large Muslim population and thus good Muslim restaurants. There are also some western restaurants and the usual splattering of western fast food joints.

The best way to enjoy Qingdao cuisine is to head down to any of the many little seafood restaurants on the shore or around Laiyang Lu. For a better (and more pricey), atmosphere the hotels are a good way to taste seafood with less of the language barrier problems. The Qingdao Seafood Restaurant, on Qingyu Road, is also a more expensive, but arguably better quality, seafood provider.

Qingdao has a fairly large Muslim population and a number of Muslim restaurants are scattered about, most noticeably the Donglaishun restaurant (Donglaishun fandian) and the Qinghai Muslim Restaurant (Qinghai musilin fanzhuang, on Dexuan lu), as well as numerous meatstick (chuanrou) sellers.

So where is QIngdao?

The map placemarkers may take a couple moments to load...

View China - Qingdao in a larger map

View CSA Qingdao schools in a larger map