We ordered several big, green bottles to go with lunch at a seafood restaurant near my hotel. I had mine with ice, the only way I know to get cold beer in China.
I parted ways with the delightful Mr. Yang after that, because I planned to spend my last few days in Qingdao on the beach. But first, he wrote down the names of other attractions in Chinese, so I could get around on my own.
One place on his list was Qingdao's landmark Protestant Church. It's a beautiful example of the folksy Art Nouveau style known as Jugendstil in Germany. It has a baby blue steeple and a granite cornerstone, dated 1908.
When I reached the courtyard, I was amazed to find people crowded around the entrance watching the service on TV monitors.
Inside the white-walled sanctuary, it was standing room only. I had never seen such a packed church, even on Christmas morning in America - suggesting that Christianity is making a comeback in China. Recently, the China Christian Council reported that more than 16 million Protestants live in China, 6 million more than a decade ago.
I found a place to stand in the vestibule and then saw Mr. Yang several pews in front of me. Raised Lutheran, I was deeply moved when the congregation began reciting the Nicene Creed in Chinese, which I recognized by the cadence.
I wandered in the neighborhood around the church, My steps took me to eventually finding the twin-towered Romanesque St. Michael's Cathedral and the magisterial Headquarters of the German Administration, completed in 1914. Then I rambled down to Qingdao Bay, where the two-tiered pagoda at the end of long Zhanqiao Pier came as no surprise. I'd already seen it on Tsingtao labels.
I packed my bags and moved to the Shangri-La Hotel on Fushan Bay for the last two nights of my stay.
Compared with the Huanghai, the Shangri-La was terrific. It had cappuccino, air conditioning, an English-speaking staff, rooms with satellite TV and picture windows.
But sadly, when I opened the curtains the next morning, I couldn't see anything. Qingdao was cloaked in fog, later broken by torrential rain. Even so, I went for a memorable rain-soaked walk in the Badaguan area.
My stay in Qingdao was no spring break in Miami Beach, but the experiences were worth more to me than a suntan.
Susan Spano writes for the Los Angeles Times.
If you go
To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international access code), 86 (the country code for China) and the number.
Lodging
Huanghai Hotel, 75 1st Yanan Road; 532-8287-0215; www.huanghaihotel.com. A contemporary Chinese hotel with few English-speakers on staff. Clean, basic rooms. Standard doubles from $96, including breakfast.
Shangri-La Hotel, 9 Xiang Gang Zhong Road; 532-8388-3838; www.shangri-la.com. A well-appointed high-rise. Standard doubles from $201.
Information
China National Tourist Office, 370 Lexington Ave., Suite 912, New York, NY 10017; 888-760-8218; www.cnto.org.
