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Tsingtao–Qingdao

This project is sourced from the historical archives of Tsingtao Beer in China. It aims to explore the process of constructing modern Chinese nationalism by retracing the localisation process of beer, a foreign product.

Since 1903, Tsingtao Beer has gone through four historical periods: German and Japanese colonisation, the Nationalist government, and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. It transformed from a “foreign product” to a “national product”, moving from upscale Western restaurants to the streets of common neighbourhoods. It can be said that Tsingtao Beer has witnessed the history of China’s modernisation process and has simultaneously promoted the formation of Qingdao’s regional culture. Today, in the tide of the market economy, beer has gradually become an emotional anchor for the people of Qingdao. It shares the same name as Qingdao, and the memories of its era are deeply imprinted in the hearts of the older generation.

Therefore, I reconfigured the historical archives and images and integrated interviews with the older generation’s oral history, hoping to present individuals’ reminiscences and melancholy about the historical process.

  • Shu Lin
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Experimental Documentary
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    100 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Archival footage
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Goldsmiths, University of London
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Shu Lin

Shu Lin (b. 2002) is a Chinese filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist based in London. Working primarily with archival moving image, photography, and sound, their practice explores how history is constructed, mediated, and remembered. Through the re-editing of found footage and institutional archives, Lin examines the relationship between national identity, regional memory, and personal recollection.

Lin holds a BFA in Digital Media Arts from Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication and is currently pursuing an MFA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. Their recent exhibition “Fables” was presented at Mall Galleries, London (2025). Their work has been shown in London, Beijing, and Qingdao.

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Director Statement

My work explores the relationship between history and memory, focusing on how national narratives are shaped through images, objects, and institutional archives.

This film is composed entirely of historical materials from the archives of Tsingtao Beer. Tracing its transformation from a colonial import in 1903 to a symbol embedded in local and national identity, the project reflects on how modern Chinese nationalism was constructed alongside processes of localisation and industrial modernisation.

Rather than presenting a linear historical account, the film re-edits archival footage and photographs into a fragmented structure. These images are interwoven with oral histories from the older generation in Qingdao, allowing personal memories to intersect with official narratives. Through repetition, juxtaposition, and visual recontextualisation, the work examines how collective memory is mediated by ideology, nostalgia, and time.

Beer, as an imported commodity, becomes a lens through which to consider cultural translation, political transformation, and regional belonging. By reconstructing archival materials, the film questions how history is narrated and how images continue to shape our understanding of the past.