Shinan District
Shinan District (Chinese: 市南; pinyin: shìnán "South City") is an urban district (区) of Qingdao, Shandong. It has an area of 30.01 square kilometres (7,420 acres; 11.59 sq mi) and had approximately 527,000 inhabitants as of 2007. Shinan is located in coastal hilled terrain, and has a temperate monsoon climate. Common features include moderate temperatures, moist air, abundant rainfall, and four distinct seasons. It is notable for its early 20th-century German architecture, unusual in Chinese cities.
In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. Germany acquired the Kiautschou Bay concession from China in 1898, and substantially developed a fishing village they spelled "Tsingtao" (simplified Chinese: 青岛; traditional Chinese: 青島; pinyin: Qīngdǎo). The area built by the Germans falls into the part of Qingdao known today as Shinan District.
Shinan is a center for political, business and finance activities, and is home to investment from an increasing number of Fortune 500 companies. To facilitate urban planning, it is divided into a number of areas, including a port and logistics area, tourism area, software/IT area, high-end retail area and financial area.