Folk culture

Although urban development in Qingdao is only about 100 years old, its Mount Lao in the suburbs was one of the birthplaces of Taoism and its written history goes back more than 2,000 years.

Today, the Mount Lao folk stories, Taoist music and the martial arts style of the Northern Praying Mantis are recognized as national intangible cultural heritage.

The colorful folk culture of Qingdao also includes the sea god sacrifice ceremony in most of its outlying fishing villages, various temple fairs, as well as folk dances and operas.

The Yangko dance in Jiaozhou was recognized as national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Qingdao is also known for its farmer-painters. A few miles from the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, a quiet village called Dani often surprises visitors - almost everyone in the village can paint. Each year, it exports 30,000 oil paintings abroad and generates revenue of more than 100 million yuan.

Sculpture

Qingdao is one of the earliest Chinese cities to have urban sculpture. It has the nation's first sculpture park, built in 1997.

In 2012, globally renowned sculptor Wu Weishan, vice-chairman of Chinese Artists Association, helped found a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sculpture in the park.

Situated on the coast, the school has become a popular place for sculpture lovers and site of many exhibitions and lectures.

The sculpture park now serves as an important window showing Qingdao's cultural charm to the world.

Fashion and sports

The city is also an emerging center of the fashion industry, home to many domestic brands including Rcolloar.

It has hosted 14 international fashion weeks since 2001, the most recent in April when garment and apparel transactions surpassed 1 million yuan.

Its football teams Jonoon and Hainiu are in the Chinese First League. It is also the hometown of ping-pong world champions Zhang Jike and Chen Meng.

But sailing is more in the spotlight than any other sport in Qingdao. Since the early 2000s, the city has been the host port for many international sailing events including the 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta, the Extreme Sailing series, Clipper Round the World Race and Volvo Ocean Race.

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