TaiDong Art

TaiDong is a pedestrian shopping mall in Qingdao that holds a peculiar charm and fascination for me.  The photos of building malls posted here were taken during two different photo shoots, one in the fall of 2007 and the other during the Summer Olympics of 2008.   The buildings were painted to provide a colorful and artsy face to Qingdao for visitors.  It's really too bad that most foreigners either boycotted the Olympics or didn't have the money to come to Qingdao for the Sailing Regatta. However, I have saved the fanciful murals for posterity in these photos and hope that people who see them will appreciate what a colorful and interesting place Qingdao is.

The wall murals on certain buildings were painted over during this time.  Each time I visited TaiDong, I would have a different experience.  Part of this was due to the wall murals being changed on buildings, but also it was because of the crowds of people changing in nature by the day of the week and the time of day, especially as the night market crowded the sidewalks with merchandise.  My first few trips to TaiDong were filled with wonder and overwhelm.  Now I know my way around, it is not such a big deal to go there, but I will never forget my first visit to the silk markets and seamstresses stalls.

Every time I go to TaiDong, I am reminded of Wolfgang and how he introduced me to so much that is here.  Wolfgang was the young businessman with a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics who had studied both English and German at the university that I met soon after coming to Qingdao.  I spent much of my free time with him in the first year that I was here, as he spoke quite good English and enjoyed being friends with foreigners.  His assistance was invaluable in helping me to settle into this city and to learn a little bit about the ways of the Chinese.  

Wolfgang always chided me that I didn't know much about Chinese culture, which was true, but I was eager to learn.  Getting acquainted with Wolfgang introduced me to some of the contradictions in the conservative attitudes of Chinese, who are moving very rapidly into the mainstream of global culture with all the interactivity of the Internet and international trade challenging old patterns of thinking and doing.