A Chinese Beer Education
Although a fun destination to visit all year round, the most popular time for expats to visit the birthplace of Tsingtao Beer is during the Qingdao International Beer Festival. The Qingdao International Beer Festival starts on the second weekend of August and runs for two weeks.
Make sure that you are in this green and leafy city, full of European architecture and friendly locals, for the Qingdao International Beer Festival from 9 August to 24 August. There are plenty of activities to take part in throughout the two-week long celebration, and if you are a beer fan, then there is nowhere else you should be in the country, if not the world, in August other than Qingdao.
The festival kicks off on Saturday, 9 August. Visit the Tsingtao Beer Passion Square between 9am and 11pm (last entry at 10:30pm) for daily scheduled events and to see what it looks like when beer lovers from all over China, and the world, come to drink an ungodly amount of beer. Let us give you a hint: it’s messy! Around the square, dozens upon dozens of beer tents are laid out with kegs full to the brim with the best nectar of the gods you could possibly experience. It is not just Tsingtao Beer making its appearance at this festival. This is an international event and selections of beers from around the world are represented in the tents, although the home brewed brand does naturally dominate. Actually, we distinctly remember one tent populated exclusively by people wearing lederhosen, although it was towards the end of a long night and we could have been mistaken. There are lots of performances and food is available throughout the night. The festival also fosters a fun and communal spirit with other patrons in your close vicinity; the long public tables constructed purely for the activity of drinking beer, helps this. Even if you arrive on your own, you can guarantee that by your second sip of beer you will make friends with your beer drinking neighbours, and before long you will be ganbei-ing with them as if you have known them for a lifetime before going home feeling a bit woozy, but definitely merry.
It would be a tad aggressive to start your Qingdao International Beer Festival experience at 9am, and virtually impossible to carry on until 11pm. We suggest hitting Shilaoren Beach with a group of friends first, possibly with a few kegs of beer in tow – keg stands anyone? Shilaoren Beach is a large white sandy beach, close to our hotel, company. Himalayas Qingdao Hotel, and is the perfect spot for sunbathing or taking a refreshing dip in the sea. It is also a great place to people-watch and spot the infamous full-body bathing suit, images of which tend to go viral around the world every year, with the suit covering every part of the body, even the face.
If you are looking for something a bit more cultured, why not pay a visit, or should we say – pay your respects – to the Tsingtao Beer Museum? The museum is located on Qingdao Jie, otherwise known as Beer Street, and you won't miss the building, just look for the six giant sized cans of Tsingtao Beer that dominate the roof. The museum is on the same site as the original factory and details the whole story of production and how it was first created by the Germans, who once occupied the port city of Qingdao, to a period of time when it was run by the Japanese after their invasion, before being handed back to the Chinese on their departure and the company’s present day developments.
You also learn the step-by-step production process of making Tsingtao Beer and see some of the historic beer making relics left behind by the old company. You also get to take a tour of the Tsingtao factory and distribution system where millions of cans go flying through the apparatus on a daily basis. Before leaving, make sure you walk through “the drunk room”. We know it defies all logic, but when you walk through the room, which is tilted at a slight angle with all its decorations and furniture parallel to the ground, you genuinely come out feeling drunk, and slightly dizzy. Finally, hit the bar on your way out for the freshest and best tasting Tsingtao Beer available in the world.
After having your fill of fresh Tsingtao Beer and exiting the museum, we would not blame you if you were feeling a little bit peckish. Luckily, one side of Beer Street is made up entirely of seafood restaurants. As you would expect from any seaside city worth its salt, Qingdao is famous for its seafood, so have your fill of crabs, prawns and suspicious looking shellfish. It is all extremely fresh and cooked to order. You can pick your prey from the tank, and have it served to you with some delicious garlic sauce within minutes.
Now this may come as a surprise to you, but Qingdao is not exclusively all about beer. There are plenty of other attractions to take in as well. Laoshan Mountain is one such place, with its peak rising 1132 meters above sea level. Take a cable car up to the top of the beautiful granite rock mountain, which is crowded by an abundance of leafy trees, to sweat off that Tsingtao Beer. There are many mountain trails suggested after you exit the cable cars. These routes consist of a lot of stairs, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The mountain is protected by the Qingdao Laoshan National Park due to its cultural significance, as it is widely believed to be one of the birthplaces of Taoism and is an important place for pilgrims. Another spiritually important fact to point out here is that, originally, fresh water running from the mountain was used to make Tsingtao Beer, and it was believe that this water was what made the beer have such a delicious taste. The trails circle numerous Taoist shrines and temples along the way, so be sure to tick them off to round off your historic, cultural and beer-soaked trip to Qingdao.
Himalayas Qingdao Hotel
Himalayas Qingdao Hotel is Qingdao’s first lifestyle hotel. Exciting, chic and cultured, the contemporary hotel promises to speak “The Language of the World” as we all have the same wants, needs and desires no matter what country, culture or ethnicity we come from. The hotel delivers Extraordinary Moments through their superior service standards and memorable gourmet experiences.
Location
Himalayas Qingdao Hotel is ideally positioned in the seaside Laoshan District at the base of the revered Laoshan Mountain and a ten-minute drive away from Shilaoren Beach. The hotel is light and airy with modern amenities, friendly English-speaking staff and toe-tapping music. It is based within its own community - a neighbouring shopping mall offers all the home comforts you could possibly need (eg. a cup of coffee at Starbucks or bathroom essentials in Watsons). In fact, the lifestyle hotel forms part of Zendai Thumb Plaza, an integrated lifestyle community encompassing residences, shopping, dining and entertainment. It is also easily accessible, being a convenient 25-minute drive from Qingdao Liuting International Airport, Qingdao Railway Station, Qingdao International Convention Centre and the Qingdao Beer Festival site.
Design Concept
Himalayas Qingdao Hotel was designed by HASSELL Studio Australia; the same firm that created the iconic designs of the Sydney Olympic Swimming Centre and Chongqing Grand Theatre. The contemporary interiors take inspiration from Laoshan and its natural lodestones. Used throughout the hotel, the attractive lodestones are naturally magnetic rocks that possess unique healing properties for the body, as well as luck-bringing feng shui attributes. The design team also used inspiration from elements of everyday local life around Qingdao, most notably fishermen, and you can see metal, chainmail type nets hanging on the ceiling in the bar to represent the city’s links with fishing. The large lobby also boasts a bright, modern and welcoming sitting area with faux log fires and a raised platform that acts as a stage to host Qingdao’s first international jazz band in the evenings.
Facilities
The hotel offers 208 exquisitely furnished, paperless guestrooms, including 24 suites. Every room features high-tech luxury amenities, including high-definition LED TVs, iPod docks and complimentary WiFi. Each room is modern, light and airy with some offering views out to Laoshan. The spotless white interiors make you feel all the more sophisticated in your surroundings as you listen to the soundtrack that has already been pre- programmed and left for your use in the iPod dock. All-day Z1 Restaurant serves gourmet local and international cuisines. The fashionable Z1 Lounge Bar offers signature cocktails and fine wines, plus ‘aperitivo’ happy hours. The F&B offerings at the hotel are particularly good; make sure you try the laksa soup for an authentic South East Asian bowl of noodles.
Superlative wellness facilities include a 135sqm Health Club and the full-service Spa Himalayas, which will be opening soon. Conferences, events and weddings are a Himalayas specialty, with a total of 1,000sqm of function venues, including an elegant 340sqm Grand Ballroom with a large reception foyer plus ten multi-functional meeting rooms ranging in size from 45sqm to 120sqm, available. All venues are equipped with state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities.
The new lifestyle hospitality brand, Himalayas Hotels & Communities, is owned and managed by China’s Zendai Group. The Himalaya Qingdao Hotel marks a strong beginning for the home-grown hospitality brand that blends a contemporary vision and traditional Chinese culture within integrated urban communities. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on this up-and-coming luxury hotels and communities brand.
