Qingdao in the context of "Sub-provincial city"

The 2008 Summer Olympics (Chinese: 2008年夏季奥运会), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Chinese: 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会) and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (Chinese: 北京2008), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union (with venues in Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and Estonia). The games were the first and only Olympics (both Summer and Winter) held in Beijing with spectators, as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after two rounds of voting. The government of the People's Republic of China actively promoted the 2008 Games and invested heavily in new sports venues and transportation infrastructure. 37 venues were used to host the events, including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Games. The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong, making these the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs. The sailing events were contested in Qingdao, while the football events took place across several different cities.

As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million). As of 2024, there are 18 megacities (cities with a population of over 10 million), including Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Tianjin, Xi'an, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Linyi, Dongguan, Qingdao, Changsha and Hefei.

Among them, the total permanent population of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu is above 20 million. Shanghai is China's most populous urban area, while Chongqing is its largest city proper, the only city in China with the largest permanent population of over 30 million.

Weifang (simplified Chinese: 潍坊; traditional Chinese: 濰坊; pinyin: Wéifāng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the Laizhou Bay to the north. Its population was 9,386,705 at the 2020 census, of whom 3,095,520 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made up of four urban districts (Kuiwen, Weicheng, Hanting and Fangzi) and Changle County.

Weifang has numerous natural and historic sites, such as Shihu Garden (from the Late Ming and early Qing dynasty), Fangong Pavilion (from the Song dynasty), fossil sites (including dinosaur fossils, in Shanwang, Linqu), Mount Yi National Forest Park, Mount Qingyun and the Old Dragon Spring. Painted New Year woodcuts from Yangjiabu are also well-known. The city is served by Weifang Airport to various cities across China.

The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory (German: Deutsches Pachtgebiet Kiautschou), also known as the Jiaozhou, Kiaochau, Kiaochow, Kiauchau, and Kiao-chau Bay Concession, was a German leased territory in Imperial and Early Republican China from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of 552 km (213 sq mi), it centered on Jiaozhou Bay (Kiautschou-Bucht) on the southeastern coast of the Shandong Peninsula. The administrative center was at Qingdao (Tsingtau). It was operated by the East Asia Squadron of the Imperial German Navy. The Russian Empire resented the German move as an infringement on Russian ambitions in the region.

The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (Chinese: 2008年夏季残疾人奥林匹克运动会; pinyin: 2008 Nián Xiàjì Cánjí Rén Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics. The Paralympics (both Summer and Winter) held in Beijing is the first and only to be held with spectator, as the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing held without spectator due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3,951 athletes from 146 countries took part, the largest number of nations ever (ten more than the 2004 Games in Athens). Five countries competed for the first time. As host country, China fielded more athletes than any other country. The slogan for the 2008 Paralympics was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, "One World, One Dream" (simplified Chinese: 同一个世界 同一个梦想; traditional Chinese: 同一個世界 同一個夢想 Pinyin Tóng yīge shìjìe tóng yīge mèngxiǎng, lit. "One World, One Dream"). China dominated the medal count, finishing with 89 gold medals and 211 total medals, more than double the next-ranked NPC in both cases. 339 Paralympic records and 279 world records were broken. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven declared the Games "the greatest Paralympic Games ever."

The Iltis class was a group of six gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The class comprised Iltis, the lead ship, Jaguar, Tiger, Luchs, Panther, and Eber. The ships were built to modernize the German gunboat force that was used to patrol the German colonial empire. They were ordered in three groups of two ships, each pair incorporating design improvements. The first pair, Iltis and Jaguar, were armed with a main battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and had a pronounced ram bow. The next pair, Tiger and Luchs, received two 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns instead of the 8.8 cm weapons, and adopted a straight stem. Panther and Eber were similar, but had modifications to their hull form to improve handling.

The first four members of the class were deployed to China as part of the East Asia Squadron after entering service, which was based in Qingdao. They were part of the Eight Nation Alliance that responded to the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900–1901, and Iltis saw significant action at the Battle of the Taku Forts where she led the Allied attack on the forts. The other members of the class were used to guard Europeans in various ports or patrol the region and did not take part in any fighting. Their subsequent careers were largely uneventful, apart from Jaguar's suppression of uprisings in German colonial holdings in the central Pacific in 1908–1909. At the start of World War I, Iltis, Tiger, and Luchs were disarmed to convert merchant ships into auxiliary cruisers, while Jaguar remained in service and fought in the Siege of Qingdao. All four ships were scuttled over the course of the siege, between September and November.

Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), also known as CLARK or CLARK the Forklift, is an American manufacturer of forklift trucks based in Dallas, Texas. The company has manufacturing facilities in Changwon, South Korea, Lexington, Kentucky, Qingdao, China, and Hanoi, Vietnam. CLARK currently (2023) offers one of the broadest product lines in the industry, with products covering all five forklift classes, ranging from hand pallet jacks to 18,000 pound-capacity sit down forklifts.

According to the company, there are over 350,000 CLARK forklift trucks currently in operation around the world. CLARK is credited with having invented the world's first truck with a hydraulic lifting mechanism in 1924, an attachment to the Duat tow tractor. This internal combustion truck with hydraulic lifting mechanism became the forerunner to modern forklift trucks.