Jiaozhou City 胶州市

Setting and landscape

The city spans 51 km from east to west and 54.3 km from north to south, with 25 km of coast in its south-east corner. Five main rivers cross it: the Dagu, Jiaolai (胶莱河), Jiao (胶河), Moshui (墨水河) and Yang (洋河). The climate is warm-temperate and maritime, described by the city as mild in winter and cool in summer.

History

The Sanlihe site (三里河文化遗址) is a Neolithic site with remains of both the Dawenkou and Longshan cultures. In the Spring and Autumn period the area belonged to the states of Ju (莒国) and Jie (介国). The Tang set up Banqiao town (板桥镇), and under the Northern Song its port grew, with a maritime trade office (市舶司) and the Jiaoxi border market (胶西榷场). The city government calls it the only foreign-trade port north of the Yangtze at the time and an important node of the Maritime Silk Road; the area has long been known as 'Golden Jiaozhou' (金胶州).

What to see

Gao Fenghan Memorial Hall (高凤翰纪念馆), opened in 1994, honours Gao Fenghan, a Qing painter and calligrapher counted among the 'Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou' (扬州八怪), who worked with his left hand after illness disabled his right arm. It includes his former residence, his relocated tomb with an inscription by Zheng Banqiao (郑板桥), and a pavilion showing about 16 tonnes of Northern Song iron coins dug up at the Banqiao site.

Shaohai Scenic Area (少海风景区), a 4A area opened in 2010, is built around a South Lake and North Lake with three islands and a 16 km lakeshore belt; its built features include a China Yangge City (中国秧歌城), a 'maritime trade office' and a Goryeo pavilion (高丽亭馆). Sanlihe Park (三里河公园) in the new town follows an old stretch of the Sanlihe river and is named after the Sanlihe culture.

Food and local traditions

Local products include Jiaozhou cabbage (胶州大白菜), the first certification-of-origin trademark in Qingdao, dried Jiaozhou chillies (胶州大椒干) and the lean Licha Black pig (里岔黑). The coast yields prawns, pomfret, hairtail and clams.

Jiaozhou Yangge (胶州秧歌), one of Shandong's three main yangge folk dances, is more than 300 years old and known for its swaying 'three bends'; a traditional troupe usually has ten dancers in five roles. It entered the first national intangible heritage list in 2006, alongside Jiaozhou Maoqiang opera (茂腔), and the China Yangge Festival has been held in Jiaozhou every two years since 2008.