Head over to Zhongshan Park for viewing Yuan Xiao Jie lanterns at night.

The Lantern Festival falls on February 6 in the Year of the Dragon (2012).

Relevant Links:
Lantern Festival (Tang Yuan Recipe)
Lantern Festival Traditions

Photo Credit@ James Elaine

When: February 1, 7.30 pm
Venue: Qingdao Concert Hall
Location 1 Lanshan Lu / 青岛音乐厅, 蓝山路1号
Tickets: 50 yuan (RMB)
Info: 136.8532.0970

The Qingdao Concert Hall is a vintage venue at 1 Lanshan Lu (corner of Zhejiang Lu just down the road from the Catholic Church and across from Zhan Qiao pier). The deco structure is also known as the Qingdao Music Hall. Call 8287.7050 for theater info and directions (Mandarin).

Relevant Links:
More info on Wang Zixuan Concert in Qingdao (Chinese)
Qingdao Concert Hall on Google Maps

Movie Info from Yahoo Movies

Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol”. Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton
Directed By: Brad Bird
Genres: Action/Adventure, Adaptation, Sequel, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action and violence)

Select Qingdao Movie Theaters

Qingdao Huachen Cineplex (Mykal 8F)
Info: 6670.0700, 6670.0677
Location: View on Google Maps

Broadway Cinemas (Marina City 3F)
Info: 6606.1155, 6606.1160
Website: www.b-cinema.cn
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–Taidong (Walmart)
Info: 8362.5656
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–CBD (Jusco Yanji Lu)
Info: 5556.3939
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Huiquan Cinema
Info: 8286.7219
Website: www.huiquanmovies.com
Location: View on Google Maps

West Coast Cinema (Huangdao Kaifaqu)
Info: 8699.9633
Website: http://theater.mtime.com/
Location: View on Google Maps

Notes:
* Please call ahead or check at the theater as showtimes vary each day
* Tickets are discounted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wanda, Tuesdays at Huachen
* Pre purchase vouchers of approx. half price (33 yuan) sold around town in shops such as Hao Yi De convenience stores – look for Movie Tickets (dianying piao/电影票) posters in window

Relevant Links:
Mission Impossible Official Website

When: January 28, 2 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

Run No. 260 – January 28, 2012

Hare/s: Premature Finnish (Timo) & Pleases the Court (Sarah)

Costs: Run: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/ head for horrors up to 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner is optional and will be at an added cost if you decide to stay.

Meeting Place and Time: Meet at 2.00 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 2.15 PM hare off! This run will start at Shazikou fishing village on the road to Lao Shan. The start will be at the bus stop (西姜‎) Xi Jiang on Laoshan Lu. From Crown Plaza buses 104 & 304. From Maidao on you also can take 301

Shi Lao Ren Residents: Please take any of the buses mentioned above and plan to be directly at the start - (西姜‎) Xi Jiang bus stop by 2.45 PM SHARP!

Run starts at 3 PM SHARP!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one!

Receding Hareline:
Run No. 261 – February 4 - Catch me if you can: Live set with hares chosen by lot at the beginning
Run No. 262 – Love is in the air Valentine Run, After Party at Lennon Bar - February 11 -  Loopy (Linda)
Run No. 263 - February 18 – Horny Hunchback (Dean)

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

When: February 5, 2012 (7:30 pm Tip Off)
Venue: Qingdao University Arena
More Info: 8268-4351

The teams meet at Qingdao’s CBA basketball venue, the Qingdao University Arena. Tickets (25 yuan students, 60 regular, 200 VIP) are available at the gate (enter via south gate on Hong Kong East Road). View the full CBA standings on Asia-Basket.com. Find the Qingdao University Arena location on Google Maps here.

Anyone interested in working as a part time commentator covering the CBA in Qingdao, check out this forum post by RT Sportscast. Also, check out recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
NiuBBall (English)
CBA Official Website (Chinese)
Qingdao Double Star Official Website (Chinese)

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Artist: Pan Wen Yi I

When: January 21, 2 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

Run No. 259 – January 21, 2012

Hare/s: Yellow Submarine (Sean)

Costs: Run: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/ head for horrors up to 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner is optional and will be at an added cost if you decide to stay.

Meeting Place and Time: Meet at 2.00 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 2.15 PM hare off! Take #104/304/321 bus to the Da Ju Yuan bus stop on Hong Kong East Road across from Kilin Crowne Hotel

Shi Lao Ren Residents: Please plan to be at the bus stop above at 2.45 PM SHARP!

Run starts at 3 PM SHARP!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:
This is an A-A birthday run for Yellow Submarine, we will have a place to store clothes and bags near the start/finish. We will have a warm place for the circle. Age related abuse before, during and after the run is encouraged. This will be a strong, hilly, adventure filled run. Come prepared. If anyone wants to assist Yellow Submarine as the hare for the walker trail, please let us know. The walker hare can set up some “bail out” routes for those less inclined towards a hard, long run.

Still more info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one!

Receding Hareline:
Run No. 260 Ball Breaker Run (be prepared) – January 28 – Well Hung Jury (Steve) & Premature Finnish (Timo)

WE NEED HARES FOR FEBRUARY – please let Well Hung Jury know if you are available to hare a run, thanks!
Run No. 261 – February 4 – ???
Run No. 262 Love is in the air Valentine Run – February 11 – ???
Run No. 263 – February 18 – ???
Run No. 264 – February 25 – ???

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

Chinese New Year’s Eve, or Da Nian Sanshi, is January 22, 2012. The following day is the actual New Year’s Day, called Chu Yi. The Spring Festival arrives in Qingdao once more. Check out more info and photos below, including a video from Youku of an ear numbing display of fireworks in China.

Happy New Year – Xin Nian Kuai Le – 新年快乐 !!!

Firecrackers And Other Artillery

The firecrackers are most intense around midnight, right when everyone is getting ready to have the jiaozi (dumplings) made for the special occasion. Eating jiaozi is a must on the eve of Da Nian 30 – as are the massive firework pyrotechnics that sometimes stretch to dawn. The first and last evenings of Spring Festival are the heaviest fireworks nights.

Usually before people start to have the formal dinner on New Year’s Eve, they set off firecrackers for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Door Couplets (dui lian/对联)

These Spring Couplets are seen on doors, usually with black characters on red paper. The short benedictions wish those entering the door prosperity, good fortune, health, wealth, and more. Many older people still gather a crowd at an informal dui lian market to write the traditional couplets. Check out more info on these poetic Spring Festival Distiches.

Jiaozi, Sticky Rice And Special New Year’s Foods

Spring Festival is a time to eat with everyone you meet, from the feast of New Year’s Eve to the meals shared over the first few days of the year as people visit family and friends. The most important food of the festival is jiaozi. Many people put a few coins into some of the dumplings to represent good luck and fortune.

The tail end of the Spring Festival brings Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie/元宵节), which is celebrated with tang yuan, a sticky rice ball in a sweet broth, with fillings of peanut, sesame, red bean, and more.

Eating sweet tang yuan on the night of the first full moon of the lunar year is symbolic of happiness and peace.

Lantern Festival

There is a myth about why people hang red lanterns on Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie/元宵节). Long, long ago there were many horrible beasts in human society which did nothing but hurt people. People got together to kill these beasts but accidentally a holy bird got lost in human society and was killed by mistake.

The Emperor of Heaven was very angry and ordered a big fire to be set to punish people. But his seventh daughter was too kind to see people suffering because of her father’s rage, so she came up with the idea of having people hang red lanterns everywhere to recreate the atmosphere of fire. Thereafter, people started to celebrate this day with the hanging of red lanterns.

Eating sticky rice dumplings (tang yuan) is the most important custom of Lantern Festival. The Chinese people want everything to have a happy ending, so eating sweet tang yuan on the night of the first full moon of the lunar year is symbolic of happiness and peace.

Relevant Links:
Spring Festival
Spring Festival Traditions
Lantern Festival (Tang Yuan Recipe)
Lantern Festival Traditions
Jiaozi Junkie

Here’s the recap from Asia-Basket:

Rather predictable result when eighth ranked Shanxi Zhongyu (13-10) beat on the road 11th ranked Qingdao Double Star (11-14) 110-106. Qingdao Double Star was ahead by 15 points at the halftime before a 70-51 second half run of Shanxi Zhongyu. They made 29-of-36 charity shots (80.6 percent) during the game, while Qingdao Double Star only scored thirteen points from the stripe. Shanxi Zhongyu forced 25 Qingdao Double Star turnovers. Strangely Qingdao Double Star outrebounded Shanxi Zhongyu 55-34 including a 36-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. 29 personal fouls committed by Qingdao Double Star helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American forward Charles Gaines notched a double-double by scoring 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the effort and the other American import swingman Marcus Williams supported him with 37 points (!!!) and 5 steals (perfect from the field making all eleven shots !!!). Even 45 points (!!!) and 9 rebounds by American guard Lester Hudson did not help to save the game for Qingdao Double Star. Nigerian-British power forward Olumide Oyedeji added 25 points and 15 rebounds (on 11-of-13 shooting from the field) for the hosts.

Check out commentary and recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
CBA Official Website (Chinese)
Qingdao Double Star Official Website (Chinese)

Movie Info from Yahoo Movies

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large – Professor Moriarty – and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes ever more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London and across Europe, to France, Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction – all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Genres: Adaptation, Action/Adventure and Sequel
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material

Select Qingdao Movie Theaters

Qingdao Huachen Cineplex (Mykal 8F)
Info: 6670.0700, 6670.0677
Location: View on Google Maps

Broadway Cinemas (Marina City 3F)
Info: 6606.1155, 6606.1160
Website: www.b-cinema.cn
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–Taidong (Walmart)
Info: 8362.5656
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–CBD (Jusco Yanji Lu)
Info: 5556.3939
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Huiquan Cinema
Info: 8286.7219
Website: www.huiquanmovies.com
Location: View on Google Maps

West Coast Cinema (Huangdao Kaifaqu)
Info: 8699.9633
Website: http://theater.mtime.com/
Location: View on Google Maps

Notes:
* Please call ahead or check at the theater as showtimes vary each day
* Tickets are discounted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wanda, Tuesdays at Huachen
* Pre purchase vouchers of approx. half price (33 yuan) sold around town in shops such as Hao Yi De convenience stores – look for Movie Tickets (dianying piao/电影票) posters in window

Relevant Links:
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows Official Website

When: January 14, 2 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

Run No. 258 – January 14, 2012

Hare/s: Whores’ Whisperer (Philip)

Costs: Run: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/ head for horrors up to 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner is optional and will be at an added cost if you decide to stay.

Meeting Place and Time: Meet at 2 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 2.15 PM hare off! The Run start point is at “Hai Shui Yu Chang / Number 1 Bathing Beach” – we will take one of these buses to reach there – 321/316/312/501

Run starts at 3 PM SHARP!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:
The hare suffices to say “It will be a funny trail, On on!”

Still more info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one!

Receding Hareline:
Run No. 259 – January 21 – Yellow Submarine (Sean)
Run No. 260 – January 28 – Well Hung Jury (Steve) & Premature Finnish (Timo)
WE NEED HARES FOR FEBRUARY – please let Well Hung Jury know if you are available to hare a run, thanks!
Run No. 261 – February 4 – ???
Run No. 262 Love is in the air Valentine Run – February 11 – ???
Run No. 263 – February 18 – ???
Run No. 264 – February 25 – ???

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

It’s an almost mandatory time to be with one’s family – expect huge traffic jams on the way home for the Little New Year. The Rabbit will be sent off here in Qingdao with the festival required jiaozi a week before Spring Festival and the Year of the Dragon.

Little New Year signals a slowdown in work as people are rushing about taking care of last minute preparations for the fireworks and feasts to come during Chinese New Year, so expect your office/school/factory to be winding down as well in the run up to one of the largest celebrations on Earth.

More information on Chinese Little New Year from China.org.cn:

Little New Year, which falls about a week before the lunar New Year, is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity who oversees the moral character of each household. In one of the most distinctive traditions of Spring Festival, a paper image of the Kitchen God is burned on Little New Year, dispatching the god’s spirit to Heaven to report on the family’s conduct over the past year. The Kitchen God is then welcomed back by pasting a new paper image of him beside the stove. From this vantage point, the Kitchen God will oversee and protect the household for another year. The close association of the Kitchen God with the Lunar New Year has resulted in Kitchen God Festival being called Little New Year. Although very few families still make offerings to the Kitchen God on this day, many traditional holiday activities are still very popular.

Relevant Links:
Chinese Little New Year
Kitchen God

When: January 15, 2011 (7:30 pm Tip Off)
Venue: Qingdao University Arena
More Info: 8268-4351

The teams meet at Qingdao’s CBA basketball venue, the Qingdao University Arena. Tickets (25 yuan students, 60 regular, 200 VIP) are available at the gate (enter via south gate on Hong Kong East Road). View the full CBA standings on Asia-Basket.com. Find the Qingdao University Arena location on Google Maps here.

Anyone interested in working as a part time commentator covering the CBA in Qingdao, check out this forum post by RT Sportscast. Also, check out recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
NiuBBall (English)
CBA Official Website (Chinese)
Qingdao Double Star Official Website (Chinese)
Xinjiang Flying Tigers Official Website (Chinese)
Xinjiang Flying Tigers on Wikipedia (English)

For more information on the photos and location, contact the contributor here. View more from Clay Army at Qingdao Photos.

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Photos

One viewer gave the following mixed review of Mai Fu on IMDB:

It’s superficially a nice story, but “Surveillance” doesn’t really show (director) Huang Jianxin at his best. It falls awkwardly between his two unique styles – the overt political symbolism and criticism of his early movies, and the sardonic warmth of his later movies – and ends up being a rather flat movie which doesn’t genuinely engage the audience. Huang’s wonderful eye for detail sets him above his Chinese contemporaries in almost all his movies: there are some really enjoyable scenes here, but neither the social observation nor the plot are really enough to sustain a whole film.

The police station in the movie is actually the old Qingdao City Hall (at the 7.30 minute mark) built during German colonial times. There are scenes in areas that were later re-developed, such as the Beihai Shipyards (at the 23.00 minute mark). The site became the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center after the shipyards moved to Huangdao to make way for 2008.

Watch Surveillance on Youku (Mandarin with Chinese subtitles).

Relevant Links:
Surveillance on VeryCD
Qingdao City Hall Building

When: January 6, 2011 (7:30 pm Tip Off)
Venue: Qingdao University Arena
More Info: 8268-4351

The teams meet at Qingdao’s CBA basketball venue, the Qingdao University Arena. Tickets (25 yuan, 60 regular, 200 VIP) are available at the gate (enter via south gate on Hong Kong East Road). View the full CBA standings on Asia-Basket.com. Find the Qingdao University Arena location on Google Maps here.

Anyone interested in working as a part time commentator covering the CBA in Qingdao, check out this forum post by RT Sportscast. Also, check out recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
NiuBBall (English)
Official CBA website (Chinese)
Official Qingdao Double Star website (Chinese)

Movie Info from Yahoo Movies

When an elderly woman is viciously murdered in Oxford, her body is discovered by two strangers whose lives are immediately changed forever: Arthur Seldom, a prestigious professor of logic, and Martin, a young graduate student who has just arrived at the university hoping to be Seldom’s pupil. It quickly becomes clear that hers is the first in a series of increasingly bizarre murders, with each victim’s corpse marked by strange symbols. Professor and student join forces to try and crack the code, setting into motion an elaborate game with the killer with ever-increasing stakes. As Martin gets closer to the facts, he grows increasingly unhinged from his grasp on the world around him.

Starring: Elijah Wood, John Hurt, Leonor Watling, Julie Cox
Directed By: Alex de la Iglesia
Genres: Thriller, Adaptation, Drama, Crime/Gangster and Art/Foreign
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content/nudity and some violence/disturbing images

Select Qingdao Movie Theaters

Qingdao Huachen Cineplex (Mykal 8F)
Info: 6670.0700, 6670.0677
Location: View on Google Maps

Broadway Cinemas (Marina City 3F)
Info: 6606.1155, 6606.1160
Website: www.b-cinema.cn
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–Taidong (Walmart)
Info: 8362.5656
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–CBD (Jusco Yanji Lu)
Info: 5556.3939
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Huiquan Cinema
Info: 8286.7219
Website: www.huiquanmovies.com
Location: View on Google Maps

West Coast Cinema (Huangdao Kaifaqu)
Info: 8699.9633
Website: http://theater.mtime.com/
Location: View on Google Maps

Notes:
* Please call ahead or check at the theater as showtimes vary each day
* Tickets are discounted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wanda, Tuesdays at Huachen
* Pre purchase vouchers of approx. half price (33 yuan) sold around town in shops such as Hao Yi De convenience stores – look for Movie Tickets (dianying piao/电影票) posters in window

Relevant Links:
The Oxford Murders Official Website

Movie Info from Yahoo Movies

Successful publisher Will Atenton quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby, and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson, a neighbor who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will’s dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.

Starring: Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz
Directed By: Jim Sheridan
Genres: Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language

Dream House Movie Review by Eric D. Snider on Film.com

There are probably some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories that would explain why Dream House is such a ruined pile of nonsense. How does a movie directed by two-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) and starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts turn out this bad? Rumor has it Sheridan lost control of the picture to studio overlords, and that neither he nor the principal actors are at all happy with what is now being projected onto unsuspecting movie screens. Assuming that’s the case, wouldn’t you like to hear all the juicy anecdotes?

The story about Dream House is almost certainly more entertaining than the story in Dream House, which is pedestrian and stupid. It involves Will Atenton (Craig), a big-city book editor who has left his job to focus on his own writing, and to spend time with his family in the house they’ve just bought in a small Connecticut town. His loving wife, Libby (Weisz), and adorable little girls, Trish (Taylor Geare) and Dee Dee (Claire Geare), have been fixing up the place, just waiting for daddy to come home.

But the across-the-street neighbor, Ann (Watts), acts skittish toward Will, and her teenage daughter seems genuinely afraid. It turns out this is because — wouldn’t you know it? — the last people who lived in the house got murdered. A mother and her two kids were shot to death; the husband was a suspect but was never charged. All in the very house in which Will and his wife and two kids now live! Huh!

You see where this is going. If you don’t, you can watch the film’s trailer, which freely divulges where this is going. What the trailer tells us, and what we learn by the film’s halfway point, is that the people who were killed are Libby and the girls, and that Will has spent the last five years in a mental institution. His wife and children are not actually present in the house but are figments of his imagination (or ghosts, or something). Also, he doesn’t remember killing them and doesn’t think it sounds like something he would do.

Once this information is out in the open — after you’ve watched either 45 minutes of the movie or two minutes of the trailer — there isn’t much left for the film to do. Will accepts that his family is dead, and even tells Ann across the street that sometimes he sees them, an admission that Ann finds touching rather than terrifying. All that’s left is for him to remember why he murdered them, or else to discover who the real killer was. This process is dragged out for another 45 excruciating minutes. David Loucka’s tepid screenplay, already a constant stream of mediocrity, has painted itself into a corner: there is no resolution that can possibly tie up the loose ends AND be satisfying AND make sense. The resolution Loucka came up with (or who knows, maybe it was the studio, or Sheridan, or a Magic 8-Ball) is especially feeble. It’s the sort of laughable melodrama that would be embarrassing as a 10th-season episode of Law & Order: SVU, let alone as a motion picture from a major Hollywood studio.

Some of this doesn’t matter as long as the movie delivers chills and suspense like it’s supposed to. We don’t notice the hogwash if we’re too busy being scared. But that’s where Dream House fails the most. Not a single scare is contained within these 92 minutes, not one tense moment or burst of adrenaline-boosting action. To make a thriller as completely devoid of thrills and as blandly ludicrous as this is, you’d almost have to be doing it on purpose. And maybe that’s what they did! Wouldn’t you like to hear that story? I sure would!

Select Qingdao Movie Theaters

Qingdao Huachen Cineplex (Mykal 8F)
Info: 6670.0700, 6670.0677
Location: View on Google Maps

Broadway Cinemas (Marina City 3F)
Info: 6606.1155, 6606.1160
Website: www.b-cinema.cn
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–Taidong (Walmart)
Info: 8362.5656
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–CBD (Jusco Yanji Lu)
Info: 5556.3939
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Huiquan Cinema
Info: 8286.7219
Website: www.huiquanmovies.com
Location: View on Google Maps

West Coast Cinema (Huangdao Kaifaqu)
Info: 8699.9633
Website: http://theater.mtime.com/
Location: View on Google Maps

Notes:
* Please call ahead or check at the theater as showtimes vary each day
* Tickets are discounted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wanda, Tuesdays at Huachen
* Pre purchase vouchers of approx. half price (33 yuan) sold around town in shops such as Hao Yi De convenience stores – look for Movie Tickets (dianying piao/电影票) posters in window

Relevant Links:
Dream House Official Website

When: January 4, 2011 (7:30 pm Tip Off)
Venue: Qingdao University Arena
More Info: 8268-4351

The teams meet at Qingdao’s CBA basketball venue, the Qingdao University Arena. Tickets (25 yuan, 60 regular, 200 VIP) are available at the gate (enter via south gate on Hong Kong East Road). View the full CBA standings on Asia-Basket.com. Find the Qingdao University Arena location on Google Maps here.

Anyone interested in working as a part time commentator covering the CBA in Qingdao, check out this forum post by RT Sportscast. Also, check out recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
NiuBBall (English)
Official CBA website (Chinese)
Official Qingdao Double Star website (Chinese)

When: January 7, 12.15 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

Run No. 257 – January 7, 2012

Hare/s: Hare/s: Straydog (Chris) & Here To Fork

Type: A to B, warm restaurant at the end!

Costs: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/head for horrors up to 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner is optional and will be at an added cost if you decide to stay.

Meeting Place and Time: PLEASE NOTE – JUST FOR THIS RUN: NOTE: Early meet up time, meet at 12.15 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 12.30 PM hareoff!

There are two reasons for the early start: 1) the run site is about one our away by bus and 2) we will make better use of the daylight this way. You can prepare some food and drinks for the long ride out.

Run starts as soon as we get to the run site!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:

This run will take you to:
• Roads that you have been on but never walked on
• Places you have seen but never visited
• Air you have breathed in but never smelled
• Noises you have heard but never felt
• Nature you have driven through but never walked through

Come and join the Hash Run to a familiar place that you don’t know.

Still more info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one!

Receding Hareline:
WE NEED HARES FOR JANUARY – please let Well Hung Jury know if you are available to hare a run, thanks!

Dates here:
Run No. 258 – January 14 – OPEN
Run No. 259 – January 21 – Yellow Submarine (Sean)
Run No. 260 – January 28 – OPEN

Planned out of town specials:
In hiatus for Winter until March/April 2012 (weather permitting) we’ll be back then!! On on..

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

Happy New Year 2012 from QINGDAO(nese).

Another year over, a new one just begun. Enjoy the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Qingdao. There will be parties and countdowns to midnight at entertainment venues all over the city, including in Huangdao, Chengyang, Laoshan, and more.

If you’re in Shinan district and looking for a place with lots of music, drinking, and general merriment, check out the triangle of bars on Jiangxi Lu: ssLPG, Freeman, and Charlie’s. Just around the corner are the loud and youth oriented clubs Rain, Feeling, and Bund No. 1. The Corner Jazz Bar will be a popular late night destination – it’s on the corner of Minjiang and Minjiang Er Lu (aka Coffee Street).

Zhonglian Plaza (intersection of Ningxia and Nanjing Lu) has a handful of bars and clubs that will be rocking until early in the morning of January 1st. Try Vivi and Ye Chao for the biggest crowds. Angel and Time Bar are also in this large complex near the East West elevated highway.

On Hong Kong Middle Road, check out Club New York (near intersection of Fuzhou Lu) and Q Bar in Shangri La for bands and drinks specials until late 2011/early 2012. Restaurants including La Villa and Terrazzo will have specials on drinks and food to celebrate the coming of what some say will be our last year on the 3rd rock from the sun.

Forget 1999, party like it’s 2011. If you really believe the end is nigh, indulge yourself. And even if you are not sure about the end of the world, at least there’s a party tonight.

In Huangdao Kaifaqu, ring in the new year 2012 on the bar street (Wuyishan Lu). Check out Catch-22 and the Oriental Saloon for gatherings of expats and local friends.

Relevant Links:
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) on Xiami
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Info on Wikipedia
Happy New Year from Jimi Hendrix (Auld Lang Syne, Track 1, Disc 2)

When: December 31, 2 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

New Year Eve Farewell Party Run No. 256 – December 31, 2011

Hare/s: LIVE hares: Well Hung Jury (Steve) & Pleases the Court (Sarah)

Costs: Run: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/ head for horrors up to 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner: Plans are on to buy Pizza and beer cost of which will be shared equally by all staying back for Dinner. Hares will graciously provide a pot of chilli with tortillas and lasagna. Straydog & Loopy will be bringing some food as well, others are also encouraged to get non fussy, off the shelf food to share with everybody, come on guys, ’tis the festive season, spread the happiness, show that you care and above all, share

Meeting Place and Time: Meet in the lobby of Crowne Plaza Hotel at 2.00 PM sharp for a 2.15 PM hare off. We will take bus #104/304/321 to Da Ju Yuan/Qinling Lu bus stop across the road from Kilin Crowne Hotel, Shi Lao Ren

Shi Lao Residents: Please plan to be at Da Ju Yuan/Qinling Lu bus stop NO LATER than 2.45 PM

Run starts at 3 PM SHARP!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:
An A to A run starting and ending across from the Kylin Hotel (near Shilaoren Old Stone Man). People can leave clothing and the rest at WHJ’s office. After the run, we will have a circle at WHJ’s office followed by a new year party, good bye to GM Lost in Marks & Spencer (Nick Bright) at WHJ/PTC’s house.

Still more info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one!

Receding Hareline:
Run No. 257 – January 7 – Straydog (Chris) NOTE: Early meet up time, meet at 12.30 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 12.30 PM hareoff!
Run No. 258 – January 14 – OPEN
Run No. 259 – January 21 – Yellow Submarine (Sean)
Run No. 260 – January 28 – OPEN

Planned out of town specials:
In hiatus for Winter until March/April 2012 (weather permitting) we’ll be back then!! On on..

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

When: December 28, 2011 (7:30 pm Tip Off)
Venue: Qingdao University Arena
More Info: 8268-4351

The teams meet at Qingdao’s CBA basketball venue, the Qingdao University Arena. Tickets (25 yuan, 60 regular, 200 VIP) are available at the gate (enter via south gate on Hong Kong East Road). View the full CBA standings on Asia-Basket.com. Find the Qingdao University Arena location on Google Maps here.

Anyone interested in working as a part time commentator covering the CBA in Qingdao, check out this forum post by RT Sportscast. Also, check out recaps of CBA games (with video) on Niubball.com.

Relevant Links:
NiuBBall (English)
Official CBA website (Chinese)
Official Qingdao Double Star website (Chinese)
Official Foshan Website (Chinese)

Jiang Xin uses the English name Jessica and is signed to the Modern Sky label. Her first album was entitled The Tenacious Flower (Hua Kai Bu Bai/花开不败), released in 1996. Since then Jiang Xin has built a steady following for her pop rock style and released albums including Purity and From Spring to Autumn.

Listen to the music of Jiang Xin on Xiami. Check out her blog (Chinese) on Sina. SY Theatre is on Shunxing Lu west of Amy’s Bakery and Gunshi Music Shop in Taidong near the Weihai Lu Pedestrian Street. See below for map link.

When: January 3, 7.30 pm
Venue: SY Theater / 青岛SY实验剧场
Location: 26 Shunxing Lu / 顺兴路26号
Tickets: 80-180 yuan (RMB)
More Info: 130.6141.0929

Relevant Links:
SY Qingdao Experimental Theatre on Google Maps

CSR Sifang (and Bombardier Transportation) make high speed trains right here in Qingdao in Sifang (四方) district.

More info from Global Times.cn:

A test train designed to travel at speeds of more than 500 kilometers per hour was unveiled at the weekend.

The country’s largest train manufacturer, China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Limited CSR (CSR), presented the test model in Qingdao, Shandong Province.

The six-car train is the newest in the CRH high-speed series. It has a maximum power of 22,800 kilowatts, more than twice as much as the 9,600 kilowatts power of the CRH380 trains currently in service on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which held the record commercial operating speed of 350 kilometers per hour until maximum speeds were reduced to 300 kilometers per hour following the deadly Wenzhou high speed rail crash in July that killed 40 people, according to Xinhua.

Additional safety measures include plastic material reinforced with carbon fiber in train bodywork, which increased strength by 22.7 percent while also reducing weight.

However, some question whether China should introduce such high-speed trains after the Wenzhou crash.

Shen Zhiyun, a locomotive expert and academician with the Chinese academies of sciences and engineering, told Xinhua that testing the super-speed train would provide useful data for current high-speed railway operations.

Mao Baohua, a professor of traffic systems at Beijing Jiaotong University, said developing a super-speed train was not wrong given the hunger for innovation and faster communications in modern society.

“But the question is how to make this technology safer when for civil use,” Mao said. “No one can guarantee a zero accident record, but we have to consider every safety aspect. And there’s no need to put test models into production in haste since the bullet trains currently in operation are still being adjusted.”

After the Wenzhou crash, Premier Wen Jiabao ordered thorough safety checks on all high-speed lines including those not yet completed and cut maximum speeds.

Relevant Links:
China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation
Sifang Locomotive on Sifang Government Website
CSR Trains For Foreign Railways
Meet the Train Makers: China
CSR Sifang and Bombardier Sifang Train Discussion (Photos)

Image Credits @ China Daily, Global Times

For more info, check out his profile. Contribute your Qingdao photos by contacting us here.

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Photos

Check theater websites (listed below) for current availability of English movies in Qingdao.

Movie Info from Yahoo Movies

Set during the Japanese invasion of China, and told from a young girl’s point of view, about a dissolute Westerner who seeks refuge in a Catholic Church. There he meets a beautiful Chinese courtesan who helps him rescue a group of schoolgirls from a terrible fate at the hands of the Japanese.

Starring: Christian Bale, Paul Schneider, Ni Ni, Tong Dawei, Cao Kefan
Directed By: Zhang Yimou
Genres: Drama, Art/Foreign, War and Adaptation
MPAA Rating: R for for strong violence including a sexual assault, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Check out a review for The Flowers of War in the LA Times:

“The Flowers of War” has broken new ground for China’s movie industry: It’s among the first domestically financed films to star a high-profile Hollywood actor (Christian Bale), and its reported budget of close to $100 million makes it the country’s priciest production to date. But when it comes to storytelling, Zhang Yimou’s 19th feature is decidedly backward-looking: A lavish period weepie set against the atrocities of the Nanking Massacre, “Flowers” abounds with well-worn movie archetypes and slathers on schmaltz.

Based on Geling Yan’s novel “13 Flowers of Nanjing,” the story gathers an improbable collection of people — Bale’s freelance American mortician, a group of convent schoolgirls and the women from a local brothel — in the nominal refuge of a Catholic cathedral as the capital falls to Japan’s Imperial Army. Zhang marshals his creative team to deliver stunning cinematic sequences and period detail, particularly in Yohei Taneda’s production design for the church and the character-defining costumes by William Chang Suk-Ping.

But “Flowers,” China’s official submission for the foreign-language Academy Award, remains an uneasy mix of action and melodrama.

Having helmed “House of Flying Daggers,” not to mention the Beijing Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, Zhang is no stranger to spectacle. Its place in a tale of brutality and emotional devastation is another matter — even if, in their very muchness, the lurid beauty of the visuals (photographed by frequent Zhang collaborator Zhao Xiaoding) and the hokey exaggerations of the story are well matched. All that’s missing are characters as fully realized as their surroundings.

(Read more here).

Select Qingdao Movie Theaters

Qingdao Huachen Cineplex (Mykal 8F)
Info: 6670.0700, 6670.0677
Location: View on Google Maps

Broadway Cinemas (Marina City 3F)
Info: 6606.1155, 6606.1160
Website: www.b-cinema.cn
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–Taidong (Walmart)
Info: 8362.5656
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Wanda–CBD (Jusco Yanji Lu)
Info: 5556.3939
Website: www.wandafilm.com
Location: View on Google Maps

Huiquan Cinema
Info: 8286.7219
Website: www.huiquanmovies.com
Location: View on Google Maps

West Coast Cinema (Huangdao Kaifaqu)
Info: 8699.9633
Website: http://theater.mtime.com/
Location: View on Google Maps

Notes:
* Please call ahead or check at the theater as showtimes vary each day
* Tickets are discounted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wanda, Tuesdays at Huachen
* Pre purchase vouchers of approx. half price (33 yuan) sold around town in shops such as Hao Yi De convenience stores – look for Movie Tickets (dianying piao/电影票) posters in window

Relevant Links:
The Flowers of War on Yahoo Movies

When: December 24, 2 pm
Venue: Meet at Crowne Plaza

From the Qingdao HHH official website: “Here in Qingdao, every week the Qingdao Hash House Harriers jog, walk, crawl and run a 60 to 90 minute fun run. They follow a trail marked with flour laid out by “hares” which ends at a “Down Down” circle.”

More info from the Qingdao HHH:

Run No. 255 – December 24, 2011

Hare/s: Angelina Zhao & Gerd

Costs: RMB 10/head for hashers & harriettes; RMB 5/ head for horrors upto 12 years old for bus & beers/water. Dinner is optional and will be at an added cost if you decide to stay.

Meeting Place and Time: Lobby of Crowne Plaza Hotel at 2.00 PM for 2.15 PM sharp hare off. We will take bus # 225 to the run start (old town Lutheran Church).

Run starts at 3 PM SHARP!

Plan to attend? Please RSVP here.

More Info:
Hares say:

• It will be an A to A run (park next to Lutheran church) and we can leave our bags in a safe place with a friend of Angelina’s.
• The run will take us up and down the hills through the old town, past the Lutheran and the Catholic church (ideal opportunity to repent all the sins committed in 2011)
• The restaurant is just around the corner from the Lutheren Church.
• After dinner (and some beer) we shall go to a pub to celebrate Angelina’s birthday (some more beer).
• Gerd’s proposal: we shall sing a few Christmas carols before dinner and someone shall read the nativity story (he will volunteer, if no person more saintly is available). If anyone already has some Christmas carols in English and even the nativity story, he/she could email them to Hash email, if not, Gerd will check the Internet.

Still more info:
T-shirts are available for sale now, pleas drop us an email with your size request if you would like to buy one.

Receding Hareline:
New Year Eve Farewell Party Run No. 256 – December 31: Well Hung Jury (Steve) & Pleases the Court (Sarah) Dinner after at WHJ/PLC’s home. This is a farewell party for GM Lost in Marks and Spencer (Nick Bright)
Run No. 257 – January 7 – Straydog (Chris) NOTE: Early meet up time, meet at 12.30 PM at Crowne Plaza for a 12.30 PM hareoff!

WE NEED HARES FOR JANUARY – please let Well Hung Jury know if you are available to hare a run, thanks! Dates here:
Run No. 256 – January 14 – OPEN
Run No. 257 – January 21 – Yellow Submarine (Sean)
Run No. 258 – January 28 – OPEN

Planned out of town specials:
In hiatus for Winter until 2012, we’ll be back then!! On on..

Want to volunteer for haring? Know someone who wants to hare? Please contact our Hare Raiser “Well Hung Jury”.

–
On On !!
Well Hung Jury & Team
Hare Raiser/Trail Master – Qingdao Hash House Harriers
–

Relevant Links:
Qingdao Hash House Harriers Official Website
Crowne Plaza Qingdao Website
Qingdao HHH on Facebook

Contact the artist by email or call 138.5428.9755 (Chinese). For further assistance please contact us.

Relevant Links:
Wan Li Ying Official Website

All photos with the IJF seal by Gabriela Sabau courtesy of the International Judo Federation. Other photos courtesy of Sunny Lee. Would you like to submit photos of Qingdao events? Please Send us your snaps for publication here.

Relevant Links:
International Judo Federation