Adelaide - Qingdao Rose GardenPrint Page

The rose garden celebrates the sister city relationship between the City of Adelaide and the City of Qingdao in China. 

The statue "Song of the Wind" which forms the centrepiece of the garden, was donated by the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government.  The original version of the statue stands in the Little Qingdao Park in the City of Qingdao, China. The young girl, holding an ancient Chinese harp – Konghou, plays the symphony of the sea and the city. The two statues echo each other across the seas, bonding the friendship between Qingdao and Adelaide

The red roses symbol life and celebration in Chinese culture. The City of Qingdao rose was bred and donated by George Thomson, a renowned South Australian rose hybridist.

Building on the sister state relationship between South Australia and Shandong, which was formed in 1986, the City of Adelaide and Qingdao formalised a Friendly City relationship in 2001.

In 2002, a Memorandum of Understanding (Education and Training) was signed between Qingdao Municipal Government and the City of Adelaide.

A delegation of 19 people, led by the then Adelaide Lord Mayor, Alfred Huang, visited Qingdao and attended the China International Education Exhibition in Shandong. The delegation also visited universities and schools in Qingdao with positive outcomes.

In 2013 the City of Adelaide hosted a Strengthening Relationships with China workshop which was attended by a delegation from Qingdao, including their then Mayor. Later that year, Adelaide’s Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood led a business delegation to Qingdao. Over the next 12 months, the sister city agreement between the two cities was formalised.

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