The Qingdao waterfront and more

For us, the best part of Busan was probably the beach and boardwalk at Haeundae. When Vivian was small, she and I walked the 5k route from our house, down the beach and around Dongbaek Island, and back, every single day. Like a hamster on a wheel. Then when she got bigger, we would walk together, or ride the bike, or play in the sand, or the water, or simply try to avoid the schoolgirls. Qingdao has its own waterfront with a 40km walkway! How cool is that?

Vivian and I explored about 1 km of that 40 a couple of days ago, after getting a new coat. She's going to appreciate that coat in a couple of days, the temperature is supposed to drop to 16F.

Here's our current home: Its a 40-something floor steel and glass building, brand new (the one in the middle). We live on the 19th floor in a 2 br-, 2-bath apartment. We have a nice view of the sea on one side and the building construction on the other. Vivian is well entertained by the construction sites.

The decor is very Asian-baroque, lots of moldings, chandeliers, tufted pillows, and gold-tone hardware.

Just a couple hundred meters away is the sea and Music Square. Vivi wondered why Beethoven looks angry:

Much of Qingdao is low-rise, so unlike Busan where I came to think of 40 floor apartment buildings as normal. Here's a view from Music square: the purple Vienna Hotel, the communist-modern housing, and that fabulous tower with the vaguely middle-eastern looking golden orb on top.

This sculpture is iconic of Qingdao and sits in the city hub, May 4th Square. It commemorates the May Fourth movement of the early 20th century (pre-communist), which set the social stage for the eventual takeover by the Communists.

Here's the waterfront with May 4th Square in the distance:

Back to Music Square, where well-known music is inlaid in the concrete. Very fun for the kiddo.

Did you know that Qingdao was the venue for the sailing events of the recent Olympics? And the city won't let you forget it, either. Commemorative evidence is everywhere, even in the manhole covers.