Kiautschou Bay Territory (Freedom Ascendant)

Kiautschou Bay Territory (German: Kiautschou Bucht Gebiet; Chinese: 胶州湾租借地) is a territory of Germany surrounded by North China. Originally 213 mi2, (552 km2), the land area has steadily increased due to land reclamation.

History
The original native population of around 200,000, with 400 Germans in 1912 was partly expelled after the first World War in retaliation for their attacks on the German population there. Having reduced the Chinese population to around 120,000, the Germans sent two brigades of 2,000 troops each, along with their families, to settle the cleared area, and to 'germanize' it.

After the Treaty of Versailles, of which China was a part, the German lease was renegotiated such that the sovereignty was yielded to Germany for 99 years, and the neutral zone was confirmed, and Germany was able to establish a naval station there for its own navy, but that would also reduce its European naval size, to the benefit of the UK and France. Kiautschou became legally part of Germany in 1919.

Kiautschou was transformed into a modern realm with Germany investing upwards of $100 million. The impoverished fishing village of Tsingtau was laid out with wide streets, solid housing areas, government buildings, electrification throughout, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply, a rarity in large parts of Asia at that time and later. The area had the highest schools density and highest per capita student enrollment in all of China, with primary, secondary and vocational schools funded by the Berlin treasury and Protestant and Roman Catholic missions.

With the expansion of economic activity and public works, German banks opened branch offices, the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank being the most prominent. The completion of the Shantung Railroad in 1910 provided a connection to the Trans-Siberian Railway and thus allowed travel by train from Tsingtau to Berlin.

After the Chinese revolution of 1911 ran its course, many wealthy Chinese and politically connected ex-officials settled in the colony because of the safe and orderly environment it offered. Sun Yat-sen visited the Tsingtau area and stated in 1912, “... I am impressed. The city is a true model for China’s future.”

In the 1920s, the exotic location was a draw for the Germans looking to rejoin the world community after the war, and thousands settled there looking for new opportunities over the decade. They found a place both familiar and new, with buildings, streets, plumbing, and electricity all feeling like a German town, but with a lot more Chinese settlers. It was in this time that many Germans got exposed to Chinese cuisine, with rice dishes coming to European Germany for the first time in letters, pictures, and in shipments back to Europe.

Over the course of the 1920s, Kiautschou Bay grew from 8520 Germans to 18,812, with about 2.4 children per German couple, with a small number of half-German, half-Chinese children growing up alongside their German schoolmates. During this time, German was the language of administration, schooling, commerce, and media, though some Chinese-language papers were printed up in the territory. Noted papers started were the Kiautschou-Bucht Gebiet-Anzeiger, the Kiautschou Bucht Zeitung, and the Kiautschou Blatt, all of which still run to this day in the territory.

The 1930s were a tough time for the territory with the worldwide depression.