Shinan District () is an urban

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. It has an area of , and had approximately 588,800 inhabitants as of 2019. Shinan is located in coastal hilled terrain, and has a temperate monsoon climate. Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air, abundant rainfall, and four distinct seasons. It is notable for its early 20th-century German architecture, unusual in Chinese cities. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. Germany acquired the

Kiautschou Bay concession The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory was a German leased territory in Imperial and Early Republican China from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of , it centered on Jiaozhou ("Kiautschou") Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula (g ...

from China in 1898, and substantially developed a fishing village they spelled "Tsingtao" (). The area built by the Germans falls into the part of Qingdao known today as Shinan District. Shinan is a center for political, business and finance activities, and is home to investment from an increasing number of

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies. To facilitate urban planning, it is divided into a number of areas, including a port and logistics area, tourism area, software/IT area, high-end retail area and financial area. Shinan is home to the

Qingdao International Sailing Centre The Qingdao International Sailing Centre () is a sailing marina located on the former site of the Beihai Shipyard by Qingdao's Fushan Bay at Shandong Province in China. It was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It hosted the Olympic and Para ...

, a world-class sailing marina constructed for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. It hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. It has also hosted a leg of the

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial race that takes paying amateur crews on one or more legs of a circumnavigation of the globe in 11 specially-designed identical yachts owned by Clipper Ventures. Professional skippers and addi ...

each year since 2005.

History

After China's defeat in the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

, the country was forcibly opened to foreign trade by a number of treaties collectively referred to as the

Unequal Treaties Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...

. Following the

Treaty of Nanjing The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the ...

(1842), the British established the first

treaty ports Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

. Following China's

concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

to the British Empire, other foreign powers including France, the United States, Portugal, Germany, Japan, and Russia won concessions as well. Foreigners, who were centered in foreign sections of the cities, enjoyed legal

extraterritoriality In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cla ...

as stipulated in the Unequal Treaties. Foreign clubs, racecourses, and churches were established in major treaty ports. Some of these port areas were directly leased by foreign powers, such as the

concessions in China Concessions in China were a group of concessions that existed during the late Imperial China and the Republic of China, which were governed and occupied by foreign powers, and are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism. The ...

, effectively removing them from the control of local governments.

German presence in Qingdao

In the early 1890s, the German Empire had been considering occupying

Jiaozhou Bay The Jiaozhou Bay (; german: Kiautschou Bucht, ) is a bay located in the prefecture-level city of Qingdao (Tsingtau), China. The bay has historically been romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German. Geogra ...

("Jiaozhou" was formerly romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German) for building its first naval base in East Asia in order to expand into the interior of Shandong. In 1891 the

Qing government The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

decided to make Qingdao (commonly spelled "Tsingtao" until well into the 20th century) defensible against naval attack and began to improve the existing fortifications of the town. German naval officials observed and reported on this Chinese activity during a formal survey of Jiaozhou Bay in May 1897. In November 1897, the German Navy seized Jiaozhou Bay under the pretext of ensuring that reparations were paid for the murder of two German Catholic missionaries in the province. In the spring of 1898, the German government signed a treaty that allowed the Germans to lease an area of for 99 years, to construct a railway to

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

, the capital of Shandong province, and to exploit coalfields along the railroad. The

, as it became known, existed from 1898 to 1914. With an area of , it was located in the imperial province of

(alternatively romanized as Shantung or Shan-tung) on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula in northern China. Qingdao was its administrative center. According to Dr. Wilhelm Matzat, of the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

, "The so-called ''Marktstrasse'' (Market street) was nothing more than the old main street of the Chinese village of Tsingtao, and the buildings lining it were the former homes of fishermen and farmers. Having sold their property, they resettled their homes and fields in the villages further east." On gaining control of the area, the Germans outfitted the impoverished fishing village of Tsingtao with wide streets, solid housing areas, government buildings, electrification throughout, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply. The buildings were built in a European style. The area had the highest density of schools and per capita student enrollment in all of China; primary, secondary and vocational schools were funded by the Imperial German treasury and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and Roman Catholic missions. This area is what later became Shinan District. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the territory was conquered by a joint Anglo-Japanese task force during the 1914

Siege of Tsingtao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. Th ...

and the victorious

Allies of World War I The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Em ...

awarded the continuation of the lease to the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

over the objections of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. The territory reverted to Chinese control in 1922.

World War II and subsequent civil war

The Japanese reoccupied Qingdao in January 1938 after the start of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to Allied forces, officially ending

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and forces of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

entered the city in September, restoring the government of the Republic of China. During the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, Qingdao served briefly as a port for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. On June 2, 1949, the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-led

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

entered Qingdao and both the city and Shandong Province have since been under Chinese government control.

Under Mao

Soon after the Communists assumed control, a combination of assertive nationalism and socialist ideology led to the eradication of the Western presence in China, including Western culture and products. "The denunciation of anything Western as 'capitalist,' '

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

' and representative of the '

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

world' reached a peak during the ideological extremism of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(1950–1953) when the final vestiges of the Western economic and cultural presence were eradicated." This took the form of expulsion of foreigners and destruction or defacement of foreign property. An example of this in Shinan District was St. Michael's Cathedral, which was badly damaged during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

which lasted from 1966 to 1971. During this time St. Michael's Cathedral was defaced by the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

. The crosses topping the twin

steeples In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

were removed, with two Red Guards falling to their deaths during the removal.

After Mao

The Chinese government subsequently repudiated the Cultural Revolution. A major document presented at the September 1979 Fourth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee, gave a "preliminary assessment" of the entire 30-year period of Communist rule. At the plenum, party Vice Chairman

Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...

declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to hesocialist cause since

949 Year 949 ( CMXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab-Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into the theme of Ly ...

" The Chinese government's condemnation of the Cultural Revolution culminated in the ''Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China'', adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. This stated that "Comrade Mao Zedong was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist. It is true that he made gross mistakes during the "cultural revolution", but, if we judge his activities as a whole, his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes. His merits are primary and his errors secondary." Since the 1984 inauguration of China's open-door policy to foreign trade and investment, Qingdao has developed quickly as a modern port city. In 1986, Qingdao became one of five cities specifically designated in the state plan and granted with provincial level authority over economic administration. In 1994, Qingdao was elevated to one of China's 15 sub-provincial cities.

Geography and climate

It is located in coastal hilly terrain, and has a temperate monsoon climate. Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air, abundant rainfall, and four distinct seasons. In the spring, temperatures tend to rise slowly, a month later than inland. Summers are warm and rainy, winters are windy and dip below freezing. The hottest month is July, with an average temperature of , and the coldest month is December, with an average temperature of Average rainfall is per year.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into 11

subdistricts A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, Indon ...

: , , , , , , , , , , and .

Demographics

Shinan has an area of , and has a population of about 588,800 as of 2019.

Economy

Shinan "is situated in Qingdao's downtown area; it is a centre for political, business and finance activities, and is home to investment from an increasing number of 'Fortune 500' companies." To facilitate urban planning, it is divided into a number of areas, including a port and logistics area, tourism area, software/IT area, high-end retail area and financial area.

Foreign investment

Shinan's

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...

utilization reached US$188 million in 2006, a 45% increase over 2005. By the end of 2006, 2,282 foreign companies had facilities in Shinan; 55 of which had invested over US$10 million each, and over 30 being counted in the world's top 500 companies. According to a report by global consulting firm

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

, "Ranked according to size of investment, the top five industry sectors for foreign investment in Shinan in 2006 were real estate, professional services (accounting, legal services), logistics, wholesaling, retailing and restaurant and tourism; more than half of this amount was invested in real estate."

Culture

Economic reform has paved the way for rapid development of cultural undertakings in Shinan District, which strives to maintain its coastal culture in the face of major urban development by holding ocean-themed festivals such as "Marine Day" and "Sea of Love". The 2008 Olympics provided an unprecedented level of cultural exchange in the city. Major outdoor cultural facilities in Shinan include May Fourth Square (pictured at left), Music Square, Ba Da Guan Square, Tanzan Square, Lao She parks, Huiquan Square, and Station Square. Theaters include Red Star Cinema, Chinese Cinema, and Huiquan Theater. Conference/exhibition facilities include Qingdao People's Hall, Qingdao Stadium, and the Qingdao Municipal Conference Center.

Tourism

Over three-quarters of Qingdao's tourist resorts are located in Shinan, due to its scenic coast and beaches.

Attractions in Shinan

Zhanqiao Pier Zhanqiao () pier is located at the southern shore of Qingdao off Zhongshan Road. This now pier, constructed in 1891, was Qingdao's first wharf. The octagonal Hunian pavilion (Billowing Back and Forth Tower, loosely translated) was constructed a ...

() * Xiao Qingdao () * (), Qingdao Folk Museum * Ba Da Guan (Eight Great Passes, ), an area of Shinan with surviving German and Japanese architecture *

Lu Xun Park Lu Xun Park, formerly Hongkou (Hongkew) Park, is a municipal park in Hongkou District of Shanghai, China. It is located on 146 East Jiangwan Road, right behind Hongkou Football Stadium. It is bounded by Guangzhong Road to the north, Ouyang Road ...

, named after

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

(), a famous modern Chinese writer and critic, who lived and taught in the 1930s *, named after the style name 'Zhongshan' of Sun Zhongshan (), a famous modern Chinese politician * Xiao Yu Hill (Little Fish Hill, ) * Qingdao Botanical Garden *The twin-spired, neo-Romanesque St. Michael's Cathedral, completed in 1934 by German missionaries * Huashi Villa (), a stone mansion in the Ba Da Guan neighborhood built by a Russian aristocrat *

Qingdao Aquarium The Qingdao Aquarium () also known as the Qingdao Underwater World () is the oldest public aquarium in China. It is located in the city of Qingdao, Shandong Province. The aquarium originated from an initiative launched by the educator Cai Yuanpei ...

Jiaozhou Governor's Hall Kiautschou Governor's Hall () is the former German colonial government building at Qingdao, China. History The building was designed by the German architect Friedrich Mahlke (1871 – 1944) and was constructed during the years from 1904 to ...

(), office building of former German governors 'Gouverneurspalast''and former municipal government *Guest House, a classic German Castle * Signal Hill () * () * (团岛山) * () * () *Qingdao Bathing Beaches, 6 well-known beaches with complete facilities.

Sport

The

() is a sailing marina located on the former site of the Beihai Shipyard on Shinan's

Fushan Bay Fushan may refer to: * Fushan, Chengmai County (福山镇), a town in Hainan, China *Fushan County (浮山县), of Linfen, Shanxi, China *Fushan District (福山区), Yantai, Shandong, China * Fushan, Ningyang County (伏山镇), a town in Ningyang ...

. It was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. Wind conditions vary greatly from very light winds to greater than 15 knots. During the Olympic competitions, fog was also an occasional factor. The sailing centre is now open to the public. Since 2005, Shinan has hosted a leg of the

. In May 2008, the Qingdao International Sailing Centre hosted the 2008 IFDS Qingdao International Regatta In the first quarter of 2009, the sailing centre hosted sailors from eight teams of the 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race.

Health, welfare, and education

Shinan District has 3,084 beds and 4,560 healthcare personnel in 18 hospitals and health centers as of March 2007. In 2009, the Shinan District Red Cross Society was listed as one of the top 10 county-level Red Cross organizations in the People's Republic of China. In 2008, a training base for teacher development was founded in Shinan District, the first of its kind in the nation.

References

External links

Shinan District People's Government
(in Chinese) {{Authority control Geography of Qingdao County-level divisions of Shandong Districts of China