Oceanracing - 2006 - Asia Records

Asian Record Circuit 2006 - Leg 3
www.teamellen.com - Übersicht Leg 3

Thursday, 6 April 2006 at 07:29 POSTCARD FROM QINGDAO…

Qingdao is situated in the Shandong province in China and it comes with rich and surprisingly European history. For 16 years in the late 19th century Qingdao fell under German rule, which explains some of the architectural influences in part of the city, with many Bavarian influenced buildings, particularly the train station.

Like its sister-city of Southampton (UK), Qingdao is growing into it’s role as the sailing city of China. With developments well underway to get this city ready for the arrival of some of the world’s sailing elite for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, although Qingdao also has another reason to be famous – beer!

It is famously known for the Tsingtao Brewery, founded by the German’s in 1903, the brewery now produces China’s No.1 beer and distributes to over 50 countries worldwide, making it China’s number-one branded consumer product to be exported. Introduced to the United States in 1972, Tsingtao soon became the top-selling Chinese beer in the U.S. market and has indextained this leadership position ever since. 'Its high-malty flavor and well-hopped character make Tsingtao a refreshing complement to any Chinese meal' - just as well!

From Ellen;
“Qingdao is the second stop in China on this record circuit. It is a huge city but it feels very clean and there is a great seafront so its not like being in London where you can feel so hemmed in. Our first stop was Dalian, on the north-east coast of China. It really was an eye-opener to another world...it was like nothing that either myself or anyone on the team had experienced before. The day-to-day tasks that you would do without a second thought at home, become a whole new challenge just to get things done. The language barrier is the most obvious thing, although more people speak English here than in Japan, you still need a translator for virtually everything. Just catching a taxi for a 3-minute journey becomes a huge task; although I admit it doesn’t help when you can’t even pronounce the name of the road! But the team have learnt the basics - hello, goodbye, please and thanks-you's - which really go a long way, and with some very basic Chinese and lots of pointing and smiling we seemed to be getting along ok.

Qingdao feels more westernised than Dalian but it is strange to walk around and not be able to read street signs, the name of a road, the name above a shop. You see the odd international brand that you recognize otherwise it just seems alien. It is a place that you are totally separate from on both a cultural and communication level. But it is a big adventure and we have been made to feel very welcome. We will be visiting the sailing facilities for the next Games in 2008 and going sailing with some of the local children this weekend then on Sunday we will be off for our next stopover port - Shanghai, hopefully we might have learnt a bit more Chinese by then!”