Qindao: open spaces_layered cultures

Black & white photography: Martin Kulinna
Video installation & color photography: Antje Budde

Everyone knows Tsingtao beer, which originally was produced by a German-British joint venture brewery. Tsingtao = Qingdao. The city's name means "Island in the colors of the ocean (green, blue,black)" or "Green Island". Soon people will also know this place as the city at the sea, where the sailing competitions of the 2008 Olympics will take place.

Qingdao, which was occupied by the German empire in November 1897, has faced difficult times of colonial occupation by the German and later Japanese Empire at the end of the 19 th century and the first decades of the 20 th century. It was also confronted with the civil war between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist Party, which ended with the founding of the P.R. of China in October 1949 and Taiwan.

History leaves traces on city faces, its life style and culture. That is certainly true for Qingdao. The old city was built by Germans according to their racist as well as reformist ideas of city planning in a colonial environment. That makes Qingdao still a strange but very interesting place full of fantastic villas for the rich and smaller city houses for the not so well off population. The Chinese citizens make their own, very unique use of this alien architecture. There are some details, that they obviously like and hence make them part of contemporary urban constructions, like the red pointy roofs. The Qingdao beer company, which uses the red brick buildings of the original brewery as a museum and tourist spot now, belongs to the most successful companies of the city worldwide.

Yet, many of the old city quarters are torn down recently to make new space for high rise buildings. They are going to change the city's face into a post-modern one. This development will add yet another layer onto the city's face and divers culture.