Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air, abundant rainfall, and four distinct seasons.

Shinan is a center for political, business and finance activities, and is home to investment from an increasing number of Fortune 500 companies.

Some of these port areas were directly leased by foreign powers, such as the concessions in China, effectively removing them from the control of local governments.

[5] In 1891 the Qing government decided to make Qingdao (commonly spelled "Tsingtao" until well into the 20th century) defensible against naval attack and began to improve the existing fortifications of the town.

German naval officials observed and reported on this Chinese activity during a formal survey of Jiaozhou Bay in May 1897.

[5][6] In the spring of 1898, the German government signed a treaty that allowed the Germans to lease an area of 540 square kilometres (130,000 acres; 210 sq mi) for 99 years, to construct a railway to Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, and to exploit coalfields along the railroad.

[9] During the Chinese Civil War, Qingdao served briefly as a port for the United States Navy.

On June 2, 1949, the Red Army entered Qingdao and both the city and Shandong Province have since been under Chinese government control.

A major document presented at the September 1979 Fourth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee, gave a "preliminary assessment" of the entire 30-year period of Communist rule.

At the plenum, party vice-chairman Ye Jianying declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to [the] socialist cause since [1949].

"[17] Since the 1984 inauguration of China's open-door policy to foreign trade and investment, Qingdao has developed quickly as a modern port city.

[11] In 1986, Qingdao became one of five cities specifically designated in the state plan and granted with provincial level authority over economic administration.

Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air, abundant rainfall, and four distinct seasons.

[3] Shinan "is situated in Qingdao's downtown area; it is a centre for political, business and finance activities, and is home to investment from an increasing number of 'Fortune 500' companies.

"[2] Economic reform has paved the way for rapid development of cultural undertakings in Shinan District, which strives to maintain its coastal culture in the face of major urban development by holding ocean-themed festivals such as "Marine Day" and "Sea of Love".

[20] Over three-quarters of Qingdao's tourist resorts are located in Shinan, due to its scenic coast and beaches.

[2] The Qingdao International Sailing Centre (simplified Chinese: 青岛奥林匹克帆船中心; traditional Chinese: 青島奧林匹克帆船中心; pinyin: Qīngdǎo Àolínpǐkè Fānchuán Zhōngxīn) is a sailing marina located on the former site of the Beihai Shipyard on Shinan's Fushan Bay.