Qingdao
Qingdao (Chinese: 青岛; pinyin:
Qīngdǎo (help·info); former official romanization:
Tsingtao) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province, Eastern China, with a population of over 8.715 million (
2010 census). Its built up area, made of 6 urban districts and 4 county-level cities, is home to about 4,896,000 inhabitants in 2010. It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest.
Qīng (青) in Chinese means "green" or "lush", while
dǎo (岛) means "island". Qingdao is administered at the sub-provincial level. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea, Qingdao is a major seaport, naval base, and industrial centre. It is also the site of the Tsingtao Brewery. The world's longest sea bridge, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, links the main urban area of Qingdao with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas. In 2007, Qingdao is named China's top ten livable city by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.