In Chinese, “dao” can mean “to arrive.” Here in Qingdao, the arrival of spring (now warming into summer) accompanied a transition in our own China adventure, as life became more and more familiar and comfortable.

The winter ocean, silhouetting the most famous pagoda in Qingdao’s “Old Town.”

 

Beginning just before the end of the 19th century, Qingdao spent several decades under German control, producing unlikely sights like these churches (Protestant on the left, Catholic on the right).

 

A more traditional deity, in Qingdao’s Tianhou Temple, is a protectoress of those who live by the ocean.

 

Trying to get our mouths around a cotton candy appetizer before this winter lunch.

 

Impressing the locals with my gong fu.

 

And strolling through one of China’s most ubiquitous sights (or sites).

 

 

Even in March, Qingdao’s famous beaches beckoned with ribbed sands and abandoned fishing boats.

 

Qingdao’s modern business district has its own beauty, especially where it meets the sea.

 

 

With spring came legions of kites, flying here over the impressive sculpture in May 4th Square.

 

 

Musicians and children also began to venture outside.

 

And blossoms.

 

Lots of them!

 

 

 

Finally, the green took over. We’ve especially been enjoying it at Lao Shan, a nearby mountain with a network of tumbling streams and jagged peaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My parents came just at the right time, helping us cap off our transition from winter to spring (and now summer) in Qingdao!