Qingdao is located between east longitude 119°30′ to 121°00′ and north latitude 35°35′ to 37°09′ lying on the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula. The city faces the Yellow Sea on the east and south, with North Korea, South Korea and Japan across the sea. Nestling against the mountain and facing the sea, Qingdao boasts picturesque landscape and pleasant climate. Qingdao is a historical and cultural city, and one of the Taoism cradles in China. Existence and multiplication of human beings appeared in Qingdao some 6,000 years ago. Qingdao was listed as a city enjoying provincial level status in the State economic plan. Qingdao is one of the top ten vigorous economic cities in China, a city as a jewel on the coast of the Yellow Sea, a classic of the World Architecture, famous for beer, and a piece of opened-up hot-land. It is honored one of “the most vigorous economic cities in China” by the CCTV and “Entrepreneur Satisfaction Award” thanks to so many world-famous brands and excellent economic strength. There are several tourist areas of national level, such as Laoshan scenic areas and seaside scenic areas. Badaguan area is full of European buildings, and is known as the “World Architecture Museum”. The promenade along the seaside has formed a wonderful arts gallery connecting many scenic spots such as the Zhanqiao Pier, the Xiaoqingdao (Little Qingdao) Islet, the Xiaoyushan Park, the Underwater World, the No. 1 Bathing Beach, the Badaguan Scenic Area, the May Fourth Movement Square, the Olympic Sailing Center, the Yinhai Yacht Club, the Polar Ocean World, and the Stone Old Man Beach, etc.
Qingdao is located in the north temperate zone with a monsoon climate. It is humid with considerable precipitation and mild temperature and distinct seasons. The highest temperature appears in August, an average of 25.1 ℃, and the lowest in January, an average of -1.2℃.
1. Language in Qingdao
People in Qingdao mainly speak Mandarin and most of them are eager to learn English, Korean and Japanese as more and more joint ventures from Japan and Korea have flooded into Qingdao.
2. Eating habits
People in Qingdao mainly live on corn, wheat and sweet potato, as well as millet, sorghum, beans, and vegetables, etc. Certainly, with its long coastline and attractive scenery, people in Qingdao enjoy seafood very much. There are not only many kinds of attractive seafood in Qingdao, but also many unique specialties, such as Qingdao beer, Laoshan green tea, Dazeshan grape, Laoshanbeizhai cherry, Hongdao clam , Liuting pig's foot, shell carving, diamond products, Laoshan epidote, natural pearl, Tianheng ink slab and Jiaozhou cabbage.
3. Folk-customs and festivals
Besides the traditional Chinese festivals like Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-autumn Festival, there are many other festivals in Qingdao such as Qingdao International Beer Festival, Qingdao Ocean Festival, Qingdao Turnip Fair, Haiyun Nunnery Sugar-coated Haw Stick Fair, Qingdao Cherry Festival, Qingdao International Fashion Week, Qingdao Bar-Culture Festival and Qingdao Ocean Festival. Qingdao International Beer Festival is held in Qingdao International Beer City on the second Saturday in each August for 16 days. Main activities held during the festival include opening ceremony, beer drinking, evening parties, art, travel, entertainment, drinking contest, tourism and leisure, economic and trade exhibitions, closing ceremony, etc.
1. Socket and plug: In China, people usually use single AC voltage, 220V, frequency 50HZ; three-phase alternating current, frequency 50HZ.
2. Public telephone and emergency calls
| Police office: 110 | 110 | Fire alarm: 119 | 119 | Traffic policeman: 122 | 122 |
| Emergency center: 120 | 120 | Weather forecast: 121 | 121 | Police SMS alarm: 12110 | 12110 |
| Forest fire: 12119 | 95119 | Telephone number inquiry: 114 | 114 | Audio service: 168/268/195/295 | 160 |
| Beijing time inquiry: 117 | 117 | EMS: 11183 | 11185 | Long distance telephone bill inquiry: | 170 |
| Installation of telephone | 189 | Zip code inquiry: | 184 | International long distance phone inquiry | 106 |
| Phone paid by the receiver: | 108 | International long distance registration desk: 115 | 115 | Water rescue: 4006560050 | 12395 |
| Civil aviation information consultation | 2580 | Railway information consultation | 2585 | Meteorological information | 221 |
3. Internet
(1) Broadband connection: China Telecom and China Unicom
(2) Wi-Fi: WLAN
The hospitals in Qingdao are as follows: Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao 401 Navy Hospital, Qingdao Eighth People's Hospital, ect.
Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University (Western Coast Medical Care Center) is only 500 meters away from Qingdao Binhai University.
Qingdao Municipal Hospital: No. 1 Jiaozhou Road, Qingdao
Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University: No. 16 Jiangsu Road, Qingdao
Qingdao 401 Navy Hospital: No. 22 Minjiang Road, Qingdao
People can come to Qingdao by air, train or ship. There is an international airport, called Liuting International Airport, two train stations and four bus stations. The public transportation system is very convenient and the taxi is always available.
1. Airlines
Qingdao Liuting International Airport is 32 kilometers away from Qingdao city center. Presently, over 400 flights operate here, connecting the city with destinations both at home and abroad including Busan, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xi'an. Official website: www.qdairport.com
Hotline: 0532-96567
Air ticket office: No. 26 Zhongshan Road (Near Zhanqiao Pier). Hotline: 0532-82895577
2. Trains
Qingdao railway station is on No. 2 Tai'an Road, near Zhanqiao Pier. There are 24 trains which go to Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jinan, Lanzhou, Chengdu and Taiyuan, etc. The tickets are on sale from 04:30-22:30 every day. Ticket Office: 0532-82962777，82975022
Railway station information desk: 0532-860111113. Long-Distance Bus
There are eight passenger coach stations in the city, supplying frequent long-distance buses to and from many cities and regions in China. Among them, the local Long-distance Bus Station, or Sifang Long-distance Bus station located at No. 2, Wenzhou Road is the largest.
4. Qingdao Port Passenger Station
Qingdao Port Passenger Station is located at No. 6, Xinjiang Road, North City District. Currently, it services ships to Incheon, South Korea; Shimonoseki, Japan; and Shanghai.
The ferryboat between the Old City and Huangdao District enhances the ties between the two sides of Jiaozhou Bay. It takes twenty to thirty minutes to reach Huangdao. The ferryboat pier is near Qingdao Railway Station and it is very convenient to get there by bus.
Qingdao to Huangdao: The first departure is at 6:40, the last at 19:10 with the interval of thirty minutes, and the fare for the ordinary boat is CNY7. The high-speed boat is CNY 9.5. Qingdao to Xuejiadao: The first departure is at 6:40, the last at 19:10 with the interval of forty minutes, and the fare for the ordinary boat is CNY10. The high-speed boat is CNY 12.
Ferryboat Company Qingdao Branch: 0532-826199279
Ferryboat Company Huangdao Branch: 0532-86705247
Ferryboat Company Xuejiadao Branch: 0532-86705247
5. Public Bus
The public bus is the main vehicle. Most buses accept swiping card and cash. Standard bus fare is CNY1; fare on an air-conditioned bus is CNY2. If you pay by transportation card (Qindaotong in Chinese), passengers can enjoy a 20% discount. If you want to know the bus route and how to transfer, please call the traffic service hotline 0532-82817777. For the convenience of the people in development zone, by the end of June 2011, eight tunnel bus routes are successively opened. Standard bus fare is CNY2 per person. With Ordinary card, the fare is CNY1.92 each time. With Student card or aged courtesy card, the fare is CNY1.5 each time.
6. Taxi
There are two types of taxis in the city: the ordinary ones and the luxury ones. The taxi fee for ordinaries is CNY9 for the first 3 kilometers (about 1.86 miles) and CNY1.4 for every succeeding kilometer. The fee for luxury taxis is CNY12 for the first 3 kilometers and CNY 1 for every succeeding kilometer.
1. Currency exchange
Renminbi (RMB) is the unit of currency used in China. One yuan is equal to 10 jiao or 100 fen. Eight kinds of notes such as 100 yuan, 50 yuan, 20 yuan, 10 yuan, 5 yuan, 1 yuan, 5 jiao, 1 jiao are frequently used. Coins include 1 yuan, 5 jiao and 1 jiao.
You can exchange British Pound, US dollar, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar, and Australian dollar into RMB. Exchange of currencies can be conducted in such places as the branches and counters of the Bank of China.
2. Credit card
Most credit cards issued by international credit card organizations can be used on Chinese ATM, but the most frequently used ones are VISA and Master Card.
3. Bank and ATM
Banks are usually open from 9am to 5pm each day.
ATMs are installed along many main streets, in universities and communities, which are open 24 hours a day.