Space·City·Change: A Study Of The Modern Qingdao Racecourse (1898-1949)

Modern Qingdao racecourse was built by the Germans.the Germans planned to build a horse stadium in Clara Bay.In 1905,the racecourse had become an important entertainment space and witnessed the changes of the city.Qingdao racecourse has experienced five stages of emergence,development,boom,decline and disappearance.Because of the competition between Chinese and foreign in 1923,Jiaoao commercial port government was forced to lease the racecourse to the International Recreation Club of Qingdao.The establishment of the International Recreation Club of Qingdao promoted the prosperity of the racecourse.After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1945,the Nationalist Party of China changed organization form of the racecourse into a joint venture between government and business.However,racing activities gradually declined due to social unrest.The racecourse was transformed into People's Square after 1949.Qingdao experienced six stages and four regimes from 1898 to 1949,so the actual control of the racecourse continuously changed.The racecourse was controlled by German,Japanese,American and Japanese.The racecourse was only held in spring and autumn between 1898 and 1922.With the establishment of the International Recreation Club of Qingdao,the organization and management of the racecourse was more standardized.Meanwhile,professional horse owners,jockey and groom were produced.The horse racing activities were gradually routinization,popularization and commercialization.There was three famous scenic spots in Qingdao,namely bathing beach,horse race course and Huiquan stadium.They constituted the most prosperous and bustling leisure resort in the city.The racecourse brought huge flow of people and promoted the development and change of Qingdao city.This mainly reflected in: the racecourse promoted the development of urban economy and the progress of urban charity,drove the expansion of urban space and the transformation of urban entertainment consumption.But gambling also made the society form a bad atmosphere among the people.As far as the racecourse was concerned,it was not only a leisure and entertainment space shaped by historical and natural elements,but also a field for ideological propaganda and game among various interest groups.During the period of German and Japanese occupation,the racecourse had the characteristics of colonialism.The racecourse became an educational space with the characteristics of nationalism in the period of the Nationalist Party of China.Meanwhile,there were disputes among the Jockey Club,the government and the public opinion in different periods.The racecourse became a space for power,capital and public opinion to play games.