Qingdao Visit
Transcript of Qingdao Visit
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Qingdao Visit
22 October 2009
This is my first blog in English. I cannot find a computer with traditional
Chinese Windows Operation system. The only one at home in Qingdao is in
simplified Chinese. I dont know the way to input simplified Chinese. Of
course I can wait till I return home, HK but Im afraid that I would forget
some of the events and miss those memorable moments.
Qingdao is familiar to me. My lovely wife was born in Qingdao and all her
relatives are now living in Qingdao. I have been in Qingdao for several
times.
This year, we have a great event. We have to celebrate the 70 years old
birthday of my mother-in-law in October. Coincidentally, my baby's
birthday falls onto the same day of that of her grandma who counts her
birthday in lunar calender year.
We took the Dragonair flight at 10:45 this morning and arrived at Liuting
Airport, Qingdao at 13:30. Unexpectedly, my baby enjoyed her 3-hour trip
in the flight. May be taking airplane was a new experience to her that
made her excited. In fact, this was the third time she was in aeroplane.
She was not old enough to retain her memory about the previous air
journey.
I have to praise all staff of the HK airport when compared with their
counterparts in Qingdao.
Before going through the immigration we had to waiting for the
procedures of h ealth surveillance. You could only s ee crowds but no
explicit queues. Then, the crowds merged into several lines that finally
converged at 3 check points.
Oh no! The check points were just responsible for verifying the personal
identity and completeness of the self reporting health surveillance forms.
After that, we were directed to another counter for health checking and
body temperature taking by infra-red system that required fixing. Nearly
half of the passengers were recorded with fever. My baby and my
Philippine home helper were caught. They were then re-directed to the
medical station for tympanic temperature taking. Naturally, all of them
were normal.
Luckily, the immigration people were friendly, rational and efficient. They
gave me the only pleasant moment in the airport.
What made me most annoying was about the luggage. After collecting 3
pieces of luggage at the baggage reclaim area, I was logy to wait for the
baby carriage. Not until all the passengers had vanished and no more
luggage was on the belt, I realized that I was in trouble and the carriage
was missing. Because of not proficient in Putonghua, I stood there like a
dummy. At last, my lovely wife challenged the staff there and finally they
showed us the carriage which was wrapped in transparent plastic sheet
and lying on the floor somewhere. They said that they purposely put it
there because the carriage was too long but they did not envisage the
trouble caused. Who would look for the luggage on the floor but not the
belt?
When we was passing through the customs, one female customs officer
was nit picking. She pinpointed at my Philippine home helper and
challenged her presence in Qingdao. Although my wife was there
explaining the situation, the officer kept on questioning and examining the
passport. The customs could search meticulously if she suspected but not
asked all those questions which should be enquired by the immigration if
necessary. I can only say that this is a case of discrimination.
We succeeded to leave Liuting Airport one and half hours after getting off
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the plane. This is China. We have to tolerate and to adapt. Thats why I
dont like to come back to China. Quite ridiculous, HK is also part of China.
At home in Qingdao, I was happy that I could get access to the internet
service but quite unhappy that most of my favourite web sites (includingthis blog, facebook, youtube, etc) are blocked by the local authority. I had
to try many proxy services before this problem was partially solved. Still, I
was unable to use all the functions of this blog, like managing the
comments, uploading the photos, etc. Again, this is China, No matter we
like it or not, these exist, hopefully not forever.
Home (1)
Home (2)
23 October 2009
A busy day, left home at 8:30 in the morning and returned at 18:00.
No special agenda but only toured around. The first destination was a
Buddhist temple Zhan Shan Temple. A temple with all the facilities and
settings as an common temple except that the monks there support
Chinese Communist Party and opt for Socialist System. What a religious
body involves into politics! My subjective view was that the monks there
were lacking of the kind appearance and friendly gesture of an ordinary
monk should be. Instead, they look cruel, disgusting and sometimes
barbarous.
Temple (1)
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Temple (2)
Temple (3)
Temple (4)
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Temple (5)
Temple (6)
Support the Communist Party
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We had our lunch at Qingdao Cuisine Restaurant where, as usual Chinese
practice, laid and displayed all the stuff and cuisines in the lobby for
customers' choice and reference. This is good for customers and is better
than any printed manual but I'm afraid this cannot be followed by their HK
counterparts. Space is precious and costly in HK.
There was problem of meal for my daughter. Most of the cuisines in
Qingdao are hot or with garlic that my daughter do not like. It took a little
effort every meal to arrange and to order food for her.
Another problem was toileting for my baby. In HK, you can have toilet
everywhere and generally the toilets are clean. In Qingdao, you can hardly
find a public toilet, let alone a clean toilet. My baby had her bowel open for
4 times today. What a nightmare!
After lunch, we went to Metro Supermarket. This is a real super market
with spacious environment and all kinds of goods/foods. You name it and
Metro have it. If compared with City Sup in HK, City Sup is just like a boy
while Metro Sup is a stout adult. Every time coming back to Qingdao,
shopping in supermarket is a must activity. My lovely wife's nieces fetched
every snacks and foods in the market and then took them home, just like
a bandit with their plunder back.
Metro Supermarket - external view
The final stop was tea market. My lovely wife knows a little bit about tea.
She bought some teas the Laoshan tea and Jasmine tea. She also
bought a tea basin, Chinese calls it "tea-ship". Actually she has more than
one tea basin before but all were discard. She likes the game "Buy and
Discard".
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The sky turned into dark at 18:00 when we were back at home.
24 October 2009
As yesterday, we took breakfast at 7:00 at home and went out at 10:30.
We arrived at Zhong Shan Park at 13:00. It took so long to the Park
because my lovely wife had to pick up her eldest brother, his wife and
daughter in the mid of the way to the Park.
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Zhong Shan Park is a very large park segregated into various themes.
There are gardens, zoo, mechanical rides and others.
The Park was full of noise and excitement today (Saturday). It's crowded
with visitors. It's normal in China where 5-day work has been
implemented for long.
We visited the zoo only. Strictly speaking, we have visited only part of the
zoo because it is further separated into east and west parts.
The part we visited has a childrens zoo which keeps small animals like
rabbits, goats, foxes, dogs etc. The largest animal there are a hairy bull
and a camel. Visitors give money for taking photo with the camel. Of
course, they can ride the camel if they give sufficient money.
There is a bird's cage with various type of large and small birds, I don't
know most of their names. There is also a small zoo for amphibious
animals; people have to pay again for entering this zoo besides the
entrance fee at the main gate. I myself viewed that it is not worthwhile
paying for the visit as there are only some kinds of snakes, crocodiles,
alligators, lizards and tortoises. One sea seal is also there in a small pool
for photo taking and money earning.
Bird cage
Before we left the zoo, we saw a yard with ostriches. A huge ostrich was
busily digging hole in the ground. As it approached 14:30, all of us were
too hungry to spare more time to visit the remaining part of the zoo where
wild animals like lion, tiger, monkeys and others are kept.
Although the visit was so brief and not comprehensive, I can say that the
planning and maintenance of the zoo are sub-standard. For such large and
spacious zoo, the layout and locations for each type of animal is too
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separated and remote. It's inconvenient to visitors. Most of the cages are
dirty and smelly that makes the visit disgusting. I even refrained from
taking photo as far as possible in these areas.
Same as those in other public places, the toilets in the zoo are horribly
dirty and stinky that made me nauseating. I can only say that China is
improving if the hygiene of its public toilets has remarkable improvement.
It involves both good maintenance and citizens' education, attitude and
awareness.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch. Ordinary local cuisines were
ordered. The special today was sea sausage which I like most.
We went home at about 17:00.
Today, I would like to mention the traffic in Qingdao. It was a terrible
experience. I had few occasions coming across the cars that went against
the direction of the traffic flow. I could see many drivers did not care
about cut lines and turn-around, they did as they wished. The zebra cross
there are just some kind of decoration. You must pay extra attention if you
cross the road along the zebra cross because it is a trap in deed! People
can drive faster if they are bold, cruel, careless and not follow the rules, it
seemed that there is no reprimands. Apparently there is no rules andregulation for the drivers. I haven't had a chance to see any police
monitoring the traffic. Just let it be! For a disciplined citizen, I dare not
even touch the steer of the car. It's completely out of order and horrible.
Comparatively, Qingdao is a developed city but the traffic still is only a
little bit better than the barbarian's. I can imagine the traffic situation of
the other cities and places of China. There is no rules, no order and no
compliance but in chaos.
25 October2009
Not like previous days, we left home at about 11:30. Totally 14 persons
with 2 cars. We went to restaurant for my mother-in-laws birthday party.
Th restaurant is very large that I dont think I can find one equivalent to
this size in HK. It's quite strange that a wedding banquet was carrying on
already. Different culture and different tradition lead to different practice.According to my lovely wife, Qingdao people usually have their banquet
and party at noon. In HK, the wedding banquet usually is held in evening.
We arrived at 12:00. We have already booked a room for the birthday
party, a room with toilet attached. This is the only toilet that I felt
comfortable. It's clean with good ventilation and without any foul smell
Because of the minimal charge and the relatively low cost, my lovely wife
ordered more that 20 dishes/cuisines. I had not much intention to mention
about the cuisines but the worm, cocoon and the sturgeon the primitive
fish. In China, you can eat everything you like including such strange food.
Sea Sausage ()
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Bones and Small Lobster (,)
Jasmine in Vinegar ()
The worms (? )
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Spicy hot and numb Roasted Fish (
)
Sturgeon ()
Cicada ()
The party ended at 15:30 and we arrived home at 16:30. On the way back
home, I observed that besides Chinese, there are lots of Korean
characters in this city. Most of these Korean characters appear on the
advertisements and sign boards. It reflects that there are many Koreans
living in Qingdao. My home is located at Tian Tai Qingdao Olympic Garden
in Cheng Yang which is a district with many Koreans living in.
Tian Tai Qingdao Olympic G arden (1)
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Tian Tai Qingdao Olympic Garden (2)
Tian Tai Qingdao Olympic Garden (3)
26 October 2009
The birthday banquet was held yesterday. The climax of this Qingdao visit
has passed.
Today, my lovely wife arranged a cultural activity. We visited the Book
City which is located at Hong Kong Road. As named, the book shop is very
large with many floors I can't tell how many floors there are because I
only stayed at the 3rd floor where kids and children's books are displayed
and sold. We stayed for one and half hours there. In Hong Kong, even the
book city in Wan Chai is smaller than this.
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My baby loves reading
Today's highlight was the old style Chinese food stall and restaurant. I like
the environment very much. A few alleys lead to a central square with
restaurants and a stage - the Jiang Ning Hui Guan. Alongside the alleys
are the small food shops and stalls. Tables and chairs are laid out for
visitors and customers taking food and drink. In front of the stage, there
are more than 15 tables with chairs. At night, there will be Chinese Operas
and shows.
Alley
Adjacent to the stage, there are two restaurants, one on the left and the
other on the right. We took our lunch at the upper floor of one of these
restaurants. The quality of cuisines and food were average. Apparently,
mutton is the star of the show. We had roasted mutton and mutton soup
that had blood of sheep in it. I myself did not taste this soup but liked the
barbecue mutton, especially the hot and chilly ones, very much. Out of my
expectation, the toilet was clean and odourless. What a good place that
one or two local (China) tours turned up when we were looking around butI don't think there has any HK tours visited.
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Stage, Square and Restaurant
Upper floor of the restaurant
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The statues
Before going home, my lovely wife suggested to drive alongside the
coastline. We started from the Zhan Qiao (a plank road leading to a
pavilion built amid the sea and above sea level), followed the way to
Luxun Park then reached Di Yi Yu Chang (the First Beach).
In the car, I asked my baby if she still love me when she grows up. Her
answer was definite. Then I asked how. She said she would buy me many
favourite foods. I then asked again for the nature of the so called favourite
foods. My baby said, Chocolate, ice cream and candies, potato chips and
coke. These all are her favourite, that means she would offer me her
best. I was moved.
Later, I asked my baby again if the witch wanted to harm her mother, how
can she protect her mother since she loves her mother very much. My
baby said, I would embrace ma ma I said, then the witch would harm
you, what can you do?. My baby said, Pa Pa would hug me tight. Again
I asked, Then pa pa would be hurt by the witch my lovely baby
reassured me that,Don't be afraid, I love you very much In my baby's
mind, her old father is the core to protect her and her ma ma and love can
do everything. Why not? Naturally, this is her old father's responsibility. To
her old father, this is love and glory.
Our last scenery place was Shi Lao Ren (the Old Man Rock at the
seashore) but I missed it because I had fallen asleep already. I was still
unsure if we had been to Shi Lao Ren. When I woke up, we were driving
home.
27 October 2009
Today is the day before leaving Qingdao.
The weather was good but air pollution was serious. It was cloudless but
the sky was not clear. Instead, it was hazy. All that I could see were
yellowish blue, reddish blue and even greyish blue at the lower part and
around the horizons Only the center of the sky was clear and blue. The
road was dusty. You could not find a clean traffic vehicle; all cars were
heavily covered by yellow dust. Sometimes, I had to stop breathing to
avoid inhaling of dust. This phenomenon has been observed since the first
day I arrived in Qingdao.
We left home at 11:00 to Jusco Supermarket. Just like the Jusco in Hong
Kong, there were large varieties of foods and goods of relative high price.
Customers crowded together looking for their own favourites. I can believe
that China has already become richer.
A full cart of foods were picked and bought by my lovely wife and her
mother. No niece came together today but their grandma did the same as
they did. She then separated and packed all foods for her grand
daughters.
We took lunch at about 14:00 at a restaurant well known of roasted fish.
All cuisines there were hot and made the mouth numb.
Then we went to the Li Cun Wholesale Tea Market again for some
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Tieguanyin tea at the same shop. We bought 2 catties. The original price
was $400 per catty but after bargaining, we got the best price at $330 per
catty. Chinese likes bargaining and usually it works.
At about 18:00, we went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. My lovely wife
intended to meet all her close relatives once again before going back to HK
but her eldest brother and his family failed to come. This made some
grievance that created conflict between my lovely wife and her mother.
The atmosphere became tense and frozen for quite a long period.
The gathering ended at about 19:30 in a joyful way. When we arrived
home, it's already 20:00.
28 October 2009
At 12:00, we arrived at Liuting Airport. This is a new airport that has a
remarkable change and improvement when compared with the old one.
Liuting International Airport - external view (1)
Liuting International Airport - external view (2)
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Car Park
Liuting International Airport - external view (3)
Liuting International Airport - Internal view (1)
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Liuting International Airport - Internal view (2)
The latest Hybrid Automatic Floor Cleaner
The plane
These days, We were driving to and fro. I could see building works as well
as constructions and maintenance of road here and there especially in the
old districts of Qingdao. The phenomenon signifies the continual
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development and the economic growth of Qingdao/China. The construction
works also accounts for the air pollution in the city. Chinese are keen to
modernize the country but are not alert to keep the subsequent risks and
environmental damages to minimal. For the country and for the Chinese
people, I really hope that there are improvements in these areas.
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For the time being, I'm still not ready to live in China for long. It needs a
longer time for me to adapt to such cultural change and rhythm. I like
China just because I'm Chinese but not because of anything else.
0 @6:52
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