Jiaozhou was alternatively romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau, or Kiao-Chau in English, and Kiautschou in German Qingdao was its administrative center. With an area of 552 km 2 (136,000 acres 213 sq mi), it was located in the imperial province of Shandong ( alternately romanized as Shantung or Shan-tung) on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula in northern China. The preindustrial, waning Qing Empire was forced to concede the area to Germany the following year, and the Kiautschou Bay concession, as it became known, existed from 1898 to 1914 (Li 2005, p. 81). Subsequently, German troops seized and occupied the fortification.

In November of that year, the Juye Incident would take place, in which 3 German missionaries were attacked, and two were killed. Imperial German naval officials observed and reported on this activity during a formal survey of Jiaozhou Bay in May 1897. In 1891, the Qing Empire decided to make coastal Tsingtao (then known as 'Jiao'ao') a defense base against naval attacks and began to improve its fortifications.

German and Japanese occupations įurther information: Kiautschou Bay concession Sketch map of Tsingtao, circa 1906 Main gate of former Chinese munitions depot, taken over by the Imperial German Navy, Kiautschou Bay, Shandong peninsula, 1898 The area in which Qingdao is located today was named Jiao'ao ( 胶澳) when it was administered by the Qing Dynasty on 14 June 1891. – 256 B.C.), the town of Jimo was established, which was then the second-largest one in the Shandong region. The Dongyi nationality, one of the important origins of the Chinese nation, lived here and created the Dawenkou, Longshan and Dongyeshi cultures. Human settlement in the area dates back 6,000 years. The city is home to several notable universities, including the Ocean University of China, China University of Petroleum, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao University of Technology, and Qingdao Agricultural University. Qingdao is also one of the world's top 50 cities for global scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index. In 2020, Qingdao was rated as a Gamma+ level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In 2018, Qingdao held the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. In 2009, Qingdao was named China's most livable city by the Chinese Institute of City Competitiveness. In 2007, Qingdao was named as one of China's top ten cities by the Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at the 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum. In the 2020 Global Financial Centers Index, Qingdao ranked 47th the index is published by the Z/Yen Group and China Development Institute, the other Chinese cities on the list being Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi'an, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Dalian, and Wuhan. Qingdao is classified as a Large-Port Metropolis. Its historic German-style architecture and Tsingtao Brewery, the second largest brewery in China, are legacies of the German occupation (1898–1914). The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, links the main urban area of Qingdao with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas. It is home to electronics multinationals such as Haier and Hisense. Qingdao is a major seaport and naval base, as well as a commercial and financial center. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula and looking out to the Yellow Sea, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, Qingdao built-up (or metro) area made of the seven urban districts ( Shinan, Shibei, Huangdao, Laoshan, Licang, Chengyang and Jimo) was home to 7,172,451 inhabitants, making it the 15th largest city in China by population.

Administered at the sub-provincial level, Qingdao has jurisdiction over seven districts and three county-level cities ( Jiaozhou, Pingdu, Laixi). It has the highest GDP of any city in the province. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that connects Asia with Europe. Qingdao ( / tʃ ɪ ŋ ˈ d aʊ/ ching- DOW, also spelled Tsingtao Chinese: 青岛 pinyin: Qīngdǎo, Mandarin: ⓘ) is a city in eastern Shandong Province.

'Qingdao' in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters

Tsing tsao chinese