Check out a novel concerned with Qingdao and the US Marines entitled China Marine: Tsingtao Treasure. Author Buzz Harcus is a former US Marine whose tale harks back to the time when Qingdao, then known as Tsingtao, was in Nationalist control with American support after WWII.
This historical fiction touches upon a bit of Qingdao history often overlooked in the emphasis on the city’s German roots.
See more info concerning Qingdao and the US Marine connection, including photos, here.
From Amazon.com about Buzz Harcus:
Harry Martin’s life changed the minute he said yes, he’d go go back to China to retrieve a hidden black market cache of money — it changed for the worse! This was 1979, thirty years since the money was hidden in the old Marine Corps barracks in Tsingtao.
The money couldn’t still be there, but then, the murders started and Harry found himself running for his life; he was the only one who knew the exact location of the money– and run he did, escaping on a Swedish grain carrier bound for Shanghai and Tsingtao – and then his troubles increased!
“China Marine: Tsingtao Treasure” follows the adventure of former Marine Corporal Harry Martin as he returns to China aboard the Swedish grain carrier, Otto J. Nurad, in search of hidden black market money. Released in 2005, the book was heartily welcomed by Marines and the general public.
Relevant Links:
US Marines in Qingdao