Essential Mandarin Chinese phrases

Hello. Qingdao dialect is a Jiaoliao Mandarin variety with a distinctive rising lilt that locals are proud of and mimic affectionately.

Temporary residence registration at the police station within 24 hours of moving into a private flat. Requested again at every later immigration step.

Residence permit — what actually lets you live here. The visa in your passport is only an entry document.

Central heating. Qingdao is north of the Huai river, so it has municipal heating from around mid-November to the end of March — a genuine advantage over Shanghai and everywhere south.

Sea fog. Qingdao gets thick advection fog rolling off the Yellow Sea, mostly in early summer, which can close the coast road and delay flights.

Draught beer, sold by the bagful from plastic barrels on the street. Buying beer in a plastic bag is a genuine Qingdao institution, not a novelty.

Clams — pronounced the local way rather than the standard 'géli'. Clams and beer is the summer evening here, and using the local pronunciation is a small social currency.

The granite coastal mountain east of the city — Daoist temples, sea cliffs and the spring water the brewery was built for.

The pier in the old town, built in 1892 and the image on every Tsingtao bottle. Locals use it as a landmark rather than a destination.

Official tax invoice. Needed for rent if you claim the expatriate housing exemption, and for anything you expense.

Police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119, traffic accidents 122. Four separate lines rather than one emergency number.