Constantin Quambusch
Leeds Business School
BA (Hons) International Business
Nǐhǎo,
An eventful month in China is over! Three additional, exciting and diversified ones in the Far East are still left...
This blog gives you an impression about my first couple of weeks abroad and shows Qingdao at a glance. Some additional pictures of the trip could be found on "flickr", please click HERE. Now, enjoy the cultural discovery.
The harbour city, with around 7.6 million inhabitants, is a petrified piece of colonial history. 1897/1898, the German Empire forced China to lease “Jiaozhou Bay”, which lies at the "Tsingtao" *, including the surrounding areas to Germany. 1914, Japan conquered the colony. 1922, it returned to China. Parts of the old town and the residential area "Badaguan" are well preserved and feature many European style houses. Even nowadays, mansard roofs and timbered imitations are used very often for new buildings. Behind many corners, you can admire many German style elements from more than 100 years ago.
Today, Qingdao is one of the booming coastal cities and famous as a fishing port on the Yellow Sea. In addition, the city is regarded as one of the most popular seaside resorts in China and was co-hosting, next to Beijing, the 29th Olympic Sailing Regatta in 2008.
Slowly, but steady the summer finds its way into the city and with it many Chinese tourists too, who practice karaoke nearly every night. The cherry blossom is widespread and temperatures allow a relaxed evening walk along the beach promenade.
Foreigners can be counted on one finger of one hand. Furthermore, you get used to be called "Long Nose" and usually serve for quite a few snapshots that could potentially be found again in some family albums, later. You are constantly pursued by an Asian pair of eyes and everyone marvels about the tall stranger. Moreover, people are really friendly and open-minded. English is not very common and therefore, body language is mainly used. Mandarin is a work-in-progress approach and needs still a lot of time to learn.
Working for “OTTO International" is varied, demanding and challenging. All colleagues are very kind, courteous and helpful. Human Resources, Auditing and Shipping departments are done. It follows Quality Assurance, Product Controlling and Merchandising.
The culinary specialities are completely different to the Western food, but everything is delicious, so far. Each province has its local dishes and every time, you are newly surprised about all of them.
Weekends are usually reserved for sightseeing, as work does not let much time left during the week. "Laoshan” is a picturesque mountain region (1,133 meters) with bizarre rock formations, canyons, waterfalls and China's most famous mineral spring.
There are definitely still many secrets to discover. Now, you can easily imagine how "Marco Polo" must have felt when he travelled the Far East, once. You should not try to explain the real China or understand the Asians. A proper answer can only be found with difficulty.
Zuì hǎo de wènhòu,
P.S.: * #1 consumer product exported from China & the #1 selling Chinese beer
