Eye On Shandong Series
Culture
Glass towers, German villas and the ghosts of empire: This is Qingdao [Eye on Shandong series]
Once a German colony and now a vibrant Chinese coastal city, Qingdao blends red-roofed European villas with gleaming skyscrapers. Despite its rich history, stunning seascapes and iconic beer, it remains curiously overlooked by foreign visitors. Kennie Ting, author of The Great Port Cities of Asia: In History, gives us the highlights.
Kennie Ting
02 Oct 2025
Society
If you grew up by Yantai’s seaside, you would never want to leave [Eye on Shandong series]
For Meilin, a native of Shandong, childhood is filled with salty breezes — days spent exploring the shore and fields, and taking part in ganhai (赶海), where the sea reveals its treasures at low tide.
Wu Meilin
01 Oct 2025
Culture
Tsingtao beer is reinventing itself for a new generation [Eye on Shandong series]
Amid Qingdao’s quaint streets brimming with history and heritage, Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. is taking the city’s proud beverage, Tsingtao beer, to greater heights. Distinguished Professor of Shandong University Edmund Li Sheng tells us more.
Edmund Li Sheng
30 Sep 2025
Economy
How China’s Shandong is fighting involution to win back its youth [Eye on Shandong series]
With quality jobs, lower life-costs and transparent career paths, Shandong could turn its brain drain into a comeback story. The province’s future depends on whether staying becomes the smart career move — not just the sentimental one. Shandong economics professor Yan Song explains.
Yan Song
26 Sep 2025
History
[Photos] The Shandong ‘model’: A trailblazer in China’s history [Eye on Shandong series]
Shandong often played the role of a trailblazer, in more ways than one. The province was a central part of major turning points in Chinese history, and for historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao, the place holds fond memories of his first books published in mainland China.
Hsu Chung-mao
26 Sep 2025
Culture
[Chinese New Year Special] Family rituals of a Shandong Spring Festival
Chinese New Year customs and practices can be different depending on where one is, whether within or outside of China. Young academic Pang Ruizhi describes his Chinese New Year as a child in Shandong, northern China.
Pang Ruizhi
24 Jan 2020