Qingdao - The city of world's longest sea bridge!

Qingdao, named in 2009 as China's most livable city is home to over 8.7 million people in China. Located on the tip of the Shandong peninsula, due west of the Korean peninsula, Qingdao is northern China's premier ocean resort. The name of this fair city literally translates as "green" or "lush" (qing) "island" (dao), though students may be more familiar with its Western postal name: Tsingtao, which is also the name of the city's most famous export, Tsingtao Beer. Qingdao has come a long way since it was a small fishing port only 100 years ago. Today, the city boasts a booming economy, one of Asia's busiest seaport with daily ferry crossings to Korea and Japan, a fascinating modern history and cultural background and, lest we forget, great beaches.

With Qingdao's legacy cemented in modern Chinese history, the city is paving its own path into the future. In the past decade, Qingdao has become a manufacturing powerhouse, and with a recently opened special economic zone, multinational companies have flocked to the area, most of them from neighboring Japan and Korea. Qingdao has also experienced similar growth in tourism, as the city's seaside location has made it ideal for many large events, such as several 2008 Olympic disciplines and the International Beer Festival. Qingdao has it all: an emerging economy, great history, great beer and beaches galore, making it one of GAC's more popular destinations to live and study Chinese in China.

Qingdao is also one of the only cities in China that boasts European-style suburbs, leftover from its German occupation at the turn of the 20th century, and also has a large international student population.