Chuar Never Tasted So Good

On Monday and Tuesday after the 7 day work week we were in Qingdao, a coastal town that is heavily influenced by the Germans. In the early 20th century German claimed the town so today there is a distinct German quarter and the Qingdao Beer Factory. Qingdao beer is the best in all of China because it was developed by Germans, who picked Qingdao to start a beer factory because of the great mineral water in the area. We all hopped on a bus to Qingdao early Monday morning. After checking into the 30+ story hotel I walked around the city with some friends before finding a place to eat for lunch. I was happy to find that Germans did indeed live in Qingdao when I spotted a few chowing down on some squid chuar (squid on a stick). We walked by the Catholic Church built during the German occupation that somehow saved from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. I learned that the staples were hidden in the hills so that the authorities couldn't take them. The architecture in Qingdao looked as if it was taken right from München. When we all met back at the hotel after lunch it was time to take a tour of the Qingdao Pijiu Chang (Qingdao Beer Factory). Driving up to the factory, we were greeted with 30 foot bottles of Qingdao covering the roof of the building. Outside the factory was a giant fountain with a bottle of Qingdao and mugs placed around it. A little later we went into the museum detailing the history of the company and showing how the beer was made and the current processes. I was surprised that they decided to use switch from German to Chinese hops about 20 years ago because it tastes just like German beer. After the tour, which included an exhibition featuring Qingdao commercials from all over the world which were pretty hilarious, we went to the tasting room. Along with a fresh bei of pijiu, the tour guide gave us Qingdao branded "Beer Peanuts." They were pretty darn tasty. Next we entered a room that simulated what it feels like to be in a drunken state. The ceiling was actually tilted along with the floor so that your body couldn't stabilize. It was a wild room. Next we were off to the free bar which was all you can drink Qingdao Pijiu. After the factory tour, a few of us headed off to the Qingdao beach to swim and see the actual temple the Qingdao logo is based on. I brought my frisbee along and it was a big hit. We attracted a lot of attention and a lot of the kids wanted to try their shot at throwing.

At night, we went to a real, authentic Italian fanguan. When they brought out bruschetta and fresh bread everyone at the table was salivating. One bad aspect of Chinese cuisine is that you can't find real bread! You can't even find it at a grocery store here. Me and my friends came to the consensus that Chinese bread is made out of cardboard. It has to be. How else does the bread last for days without refrigeration? Anyway, I ended up ordering pasta with bolognese sauce and devoured it. It was the best and most expensive meal I've had in China. Let's just say that we were all "dropping the kuai" (this means a lot of bills we're used at the meal). At the end of the meal we asked the waiter where she would recommend to go out to. We ended up going to the the "New York Bar" which had a Phillipino band covering popular western songs. They did a killer version of Bohemian Rhapsody in all its 6 minute glory. We actually randomly met up with a lot of kids on the program so it was a really fun night.

The next morning we all woke up early for breakfast and took the bus to Laoshan Mountain. On the way, the kong tiao (AC) broke and we had to pull into a really sketchy repair shop in the middle of nowhere. While we were waiting around, I found some human hair and kuaizi (chopsticks) on the ground along with lots of other junk. We threw around the frisbee for a while and someone ended up throwing it into a pond. The retrieval of the frisbee consisted of some kids on the program riding a borrowed dingy out to the middle of the pond. It was a funny scene. The hike was a nice and relaxing but we didn't have enough time to make it to the top. We did have time to be carried up the mountain for a little while by two "people-carriers", and see a Taoist temple a little over the halfway point up the mountain. After the hike it was back to Yantai. Everyone was drained after the Qingdao trip but it was a nice break from Yantai.